


Lucid Dreaming

by sunmino



Category: South Club (Band), Winner (Band)
Genre: Dream AU, M/M, brief minhoon, mentions of jinyoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 23:11:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 76,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11884842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunmino/pseuds/sunmino
Summary: They've been dreaming about each other long before they ever met.





	1. The Unknown Guest

It's happening again.

 

Sitting up in bed, Taehyun lets out a gasping breath as his heart beats rapidly in his chest. The events of his last dream lingering in his mind and leaving him unable to fall back to sleep. 

 

Sparing a glance at the alarm clock on his nightstand, it reads 4:55 AM from the glowing red numbers of his alarm clock. He still has a couple more hours to spare before classes start but that’s the least of his concerns right now.

 

“How long has it been since I last dreamed about _him_? Five, four years?” He says aloud to himself and runs a shaky hand through his hair.

 

Taehyun never thought he’d ever get the chance to see him again. Not after what happened all those years back…

 

____________

 

Nam Taehyun has been dreaming about someone since he was ten. It took him a while to distinguish that in the beginning, finding it odd to have recurring dreams about someone he didn’t even know, but decided they had to be important in some way if they kept appearing in his dreams.

 

At first all his dreams consisted of colors. Different kinds that shifted and blended together, creating unique and striking colors that amazed his young ten-year-old mind.

 

As time passed though, his dreams began to develop into impressions. Things like warm, sunny days filled with echoes of laughter from afar, the source being unknown to him but didn’t pay much mind to at the time.

 

Then touch and taste followed.

 

Due to being allergic, Taehyun has never known the taste of seafood but strangely recalls waking up a few times with raw fish lingering in his mouth. There are even times where he knows exactly how it feels to be ankle deep in the ocean water collecting seashells with the hot sun beaming down below him.

 

It doesn’t make sense to him at all but with each new dream every night, the laughter becomes clearer and sounds so friendly and inviting.

 

Soon everything else begins to fill in and take form all around him until he eventually sees the image of another person—a boy. Though as much as he tries, Taehyun can never focus enough to catch the boy’s features well, but he knows it’s a boy around his age with skin kissed by the sun.

 

………….

 

Taehyun is only ten when he dreams about a boy he has no idea exists outside of his dreams yet even at his young age he can’t help but question if the sight in front of him is a common one for many.

 

The boy is swinging happily between the hands of his parents as they make their way to a park, talking animatedly to them about who knows what as they listen attentively. His face looks soft and round, like his mother’s, but you couldn’t look at his father and not see the resemblance.

 

As Taehyun watches the boy play and joke around with his family, he finds himself wanting to join in but remains where he is disappointedly. When he wakes the next morning, Taehyun recalls the carefree expressions of the family and wonders why he can’t have that as well.

 

Stubbornly (or childishly), he decides he doesn’t like this boy, and when he’s forced into his pajamas and climbs into bed that night he waits until all the lights have gone out before taking a flashlight from his drawer and reading instead. Because anything is better than dreaming of high-pitched squeals of laughter as the boy’s dad lifts him high above his head or his mom playfully chasing him with the looming threat of being tickled.

 

☾

 

He doesn’t remember when he falls asleep, but the next time Taehyun opens his eyes, he finds himself standing on an unfamiliar sidewalk with the tanned boy nowhere in sight. For a moment he’s glad, but that is short-lived when a sniffle is heard.

 

Turning around, he watches as the boy is pushed down roughly, landing on his knees and Taehyun hisses at the sound of the impact. There are three other boys with him, or more like surrounding him. They look a lot older than the boy and laugh as he tries to hold back his tears from scrapping his knees against the concrete.

 

“What’s the matter? Gonna cry since your sister isn’t around to protect you?” One jibes at him.

 

“Yeah, can’t run to her for help now, can ya?” Another says.

 

“And isn’t she younger than you? That’s pathetic man.” The last of the trio adds, causing them all to crack up.

 

Taehyun feels something burn inside him as they continue to taunt and tease the boy until he’s reduced to tears. The boy has always appeared kind and friendly in all of Taehyun’s dreams, but Taehyun thinks that’s what could make him an easy target for others to take advantage of and it doesn’t sit well with him.

 

 _Stand up for yourself!_ His mind screams. Wishing the boy could hear him but knowing it's fruitless, after all this is just a dream. Yet when he sees one of the bullies raise their fist to strike the crying boy, Taehyun moves.

 

“Leave him alone!" Shoving the bully aside with all the strength he can muster.

 

The sudden force causes the bully to stagger back into his friends and all three of them fall to the ground in a huddle. Unable to see Taehyun, they stare past him and at the boy disbelievingly, as if he is somehow responsible.

 

The boy for his part can only stare back in confusion, arms still raised to protect himself. No one else was around but they all heard someone just now right before the other was pushed.  

 

A little freaked out at what just happened, the bullies quickly get back on their feet. "Let's just get out of here." The main leader grunts out, eyes flickering around nervously. "We'll get you next time, brat!"

 

When they're no longer in sight, the boy breathes out a sigh of relief and stands up. His face scrunches up and a small whimper escapes his lips as he sees his scabbed knee. The boy then looks around as if he’ll find his savior, unaware that it’s Taehyun standing right beside him.

 

This is the closest Taehyun has ever gotten, that if he wants, he can simply reach out and touch him. But he doesn’t. He had no idea he could even do something like this in a dream, let alone that it could feel so real, and grew afraid of what would happen if he did touch the other.

 

He’s brought out of his thoughts at the sound of a name being called and watches as the boy turns as well, a smile appearing on his face as his mom comes to view.

 

“I’m coming!” The boy calls out and moves to take a step forward, but pauses and turns back. It’s almost as if his pudgy face is looking right at Taehyun when he does that. "Thank you, whoever you are for helping me!" He says, smile bright as ever.

 

Taehyun bites his lip to stop himself from replying like he desperately wants to. _You're welcome..._ he thinks.

 

However, the boy halts in his step and snaps his head back, meeting Taehyun’s gazed with widening eyes. “I-It’s you!” He gasps, hand outstretching to touch Taehyun just as the dream fades away.

 

………….

 

Since that incident, and fearing that the boy might be able to see Taehyun again, he does his best to avoid him in his dreams. As a result, Taehyun’s once vivid and detailed dreams become dull and pathetic imitations of the wonders he’s seen when the boy is around. Come morning, Taehyun often lays in bed disappointed and stays that way until his mom comes to rouse him while he tries to remember where that warm feeling in his chest went.

 

He decides to ask his mom about it one morning while she and his grandma are preparing breakfast. "Mom, what does it mean when you keep seeing someone in your dreams?"

 

"Well that depends."

 

"Depends on what?"

 

His mom looks up from her cooking and meets his gaze questioningly. "Do you know them?"

 

Taehyun shakes his head and puffs out his cheeks. If he knew the boy he wouldn’t be here asking.

 

"Ah, the unknown guest!" His grandmother suddenly speaks up, eyes glinting in a knowing manner and gaining Taehyun’s interest.

 

He turns in his seat to face his grandma. "The what?”

 

"When you keep dreaming about someone you don't know, they are often called the unknown guest."

 

His brows furrow together in confusion. “Why?”

 

“Have you interacted with them?”

 

Taehyun thinks back to all his previous dreams of the boy. The only time he would consider that he has was when the boy looked like he was going to reach out to him.

 

“Not really,” he finally answers with a shrug.  

 

His grandma looks thoughtfully at him. “Then consider this person a part of you, a shadow if you will. They will keep appearing in your dreams until you speak to them. After that they no longer will be an unknown guest, but someone important to you. Maybe something that you lack or are missing.”

 

"That sounds a little weird..."

 

"So is dreaming about someone you say you don't know." His mother chimes in with a smile.

 

"Fair point." Taehyun replies, earning an amused chuckle out of his grandma.

 

“Mhm, now go get your brother. You need to eat quickly if you guys don’t want to be late for school.”

 

“Okay, okay.” As he moves to leave, his grandma gently touches his arm.

 

“If they are a positive thing in your dreams then it could mean it may lead to something good.” She tells him.

 

Although he is a little unsure at what she’s getting at, Taehyun slowly nods his head and considers the idea.

 

☾

 

Taehyun may have been hesitant at first with this unknown guest, but eventually believes the boy isn’t so bad after all and welcomes his presence every night.  

 

____________

 

Closing his eyes again, Taehyun recalls the last words said to him in his dream before waking up.

_"I want to meet you. Outside of our dreams." The other pleads, cupping Taehyun’s face as his eyes reflect the same emotions Taehyun is feeling._

Rolling over in bed, Taehyun hugs his pillow closer to his chest as he tries to cling to the memory of the other’s body. "I do too."


	2. Outside of Space & Time

He saw him again.

Minho is jolted awake and instead of the soft brown eyes he saw moments ago he is met with the dark ceiling of his room. He lets out a disappointed sigh and pats his chest to still his racing heart.

Reaching for his phone, he sees it’s only 4:55 AM. It’s too early for him to be awake at this hour but he doesn’t care. Not with what just happened currently replaying in his mind over and over again.

Minho never thought he'd see him again. Almost convinced himself after four years that everything was just a dream, that _he_ was just a dream.

☾

Song Minho has been dreaming about someone he's never met since he was eleven. All his life he’s been a firm believer in dreams being an important factor and what occurs in them must be as well.

He didn't quite get what was happening in his dreams at first. They mostly consisted of random, vibrant, and forgettable things that he wouldn’t remember once morning came.

But then he hears it during one dream. A strange bell noise that chimes and echoes in the wind around him, almost as if it’s calling for him.

Minho goes in search for the source of the noise and follows the sound until he comes across what appears to be a door. Normally he would avoid things he considers scary or ominous looking but the bell seems to soothe his worries over and he turns the knob, hearing the creak as the door opens. The sound of the bell disappears just as he wakes up.

The next night as he dreams, Minho finds the door is already open for him and he’s happy because he’s been wondering what lies inside. As he steps in he sees all different kinds of colors swirling about. They shift all around like a kaleidoscope and it's much prettier than all his other dreams put together.

Every time he dreams after that, he finds himself returning to the mysteriously colorful world and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to Minho but he enjoys himself nonetheless.

The place eventually starts to morph from random shapes and colors to form places Minho doesn’t recognize from his own home but he can now hear and feel everything around him. He thinks it's the coolest thing ever.

And then he sees it, sees _him_. A boy, who looks around the same age as Minho and everything changes from there.

Minho is only eleven when he begins to dream about of a young boy with droopy eyebrows. He doesn’t really question why and instead focuses on watching the young boy clad in what were once bright clothes, but have been dulled by dust and dirt. The boy spends a lot of time alone from what Minho can tell. But there are times where he finds the boy enjoying himself as he climbs up rocky inclines and slides down muddy hills; other times Minho watches him participate different kinds of activities and thinks the boy’s face is a lot nicer when he’s smiling. He notices after some time though that the place is affected by how the boy feels. When he’s in the dream world the colors around the place usually remain the same throughout his time there, but when the boy is upset the colors grow hot instead of warm, and when he’s sad they turn into muddy colors and it almost feels impossible to move around let alone see clearly.

As time passes Minho finds himself wanting to approach the boy and befriend him, but every time he does there seems to be some invisible barrier he can’t breach no matter how hard he tries and he wakes every morning feeling a little disappointed that he failed yet again. He goes about the rest of his day like any other, but he finds that a lot of the little doodles he draws on his notebooks all have one feature in common: droopy eyebrows.

One day, as he’s walking back home from school he sees three familiar people he’d much rather avoid and just as he’s about to turn the corner and go through the alleyways they catch sight of him.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the cowardly Song Minho.” Taewoon, the leader taunts him. His other two friends snicker as they all approach him.

Minho gulps. Oh boy…this isn’t going to end well.

He does his best to endure all their remarks thrown at him and even holds back his tears when he’s shoved to the ground roughly. Minho knows he’s acting like a coward for not standing up for himself but there are three of them and only one of him! He’s just trying to be logical here and avoid a major beating, but from the way things are turning out so far it looks like it might actually be happening.

Taewoon hovers over him with his fist ready to beat Minho to a possible bloody pulp and all he can do is raise his hands up to shield his face as best he can, closing his eyes tightly and hoping Taewoon or the others will just hit him hard once and be over with it.

Just as he prepares to seal his fate over he hears it. The chime of the bell from his dreams, followed shortly by someone yelling out "Leave him alone!"

Minho opens his eyes only to squint them when a bright light appears in front of him, almost as if it were shielding him from the others. The next moment feels like it happens too fast and not fast enough as he watches Taewoon fall to the ground, taking his friends with him.

The bright light is gone a second later along with the sound of the bell and Minho is left stunned as he stares back at his bullies startled faces.

Taewoon and the others quickly get up and scan the area, no one else is around but he felt someone shove him just now. He looks back to where Minho is still crouched on the ground, face just as confused as he is. Taewoon doesn’t want to show it, but he’s freaked out.

“Let’s just get out of here,” he grunts, feeling his chest ache a little from the hard shove. He glares down at Minho with a sneer, “We’ll get you next time, brat!”

Minho waits until he’s sure they're gone to release the breath he's been holding. He was lucky this time and silently thanks whoever the mysterious savior was that just saved him. Standing up, he feels the pain from his scrapped knee and flinches a little. His mom won’t be too happy once she sees that but that isn't his biggest concern right now.

Glancing around, Minho tries to see where the person who saved him might have went. For a moment, he thinks it could have been the boy from his dreams because of the bell, but quickly pushes that thought away. He’s just a person from his dreams, he can’t be real…right?

“Minho, what are you doing just standing there? Hurry up inside!” He hears his mom call out, hands on her hips as she stands in front of their home waiting.

“I’m coming!” He moves to leave but stops, if whoever saved him just now is still out there he should at least thank them even if he doesn’t know where they are.

"Thank you, whoever you are for helping me!" He shouts, a smile spread across his face and turns back to head home.

_You're welcome..._

Minho hears it as if the wind whispered it gently in his ears, the sound of the bell chiming right behind him. He snaps his head back and gasps "It’s _you_!" It’s the boy from his dreams. He’s right in front of him! He’s real! Minho moves to approach him but the boy suddenly disappears and the next moment he wakes up in his bed with a big smile on his face.

………….

After that, Minho tries to search for the boy the following nights but to no avail. He thinks the boy is probably hiding from him because he still hears the bell chime throughout his dreams but its sound seems to have grown fainter than Minho last recalls and he can hardly hear it. Minho wakes with little recollection of his dreams and is sad he can’t see the boy, who since all these dreams have started, has brought him an unknown amount of happiness.

He opts to ask his mom about it as he’s preparing for bed.

"Mom what does it mean when you dream about someone you never met?"

His mom raises an eyebrow at her son’s question. “You’re having those kinds of dreams?”

“Mom!” Minho whines, wanting her to just answer.

“Alright, alright.” She rolls her eyes at her son’s impatience. "I think I read somewhere that it means they’re an aspect or missing quality of who you are."

"Like soulmates?" Minho asks, eyes gleaming with wonder.

His mom chuckles and ruffles her son’s hair. "Not quite."

Minho pouts and sits back in bed. He needs to find a way to talk to the boy and figure out why he dreams about him. The only question is how? If there is one thing Song Minho is, it's not a quitter. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

………….

Minho thinks this whole dream phenomenon has to be something outside of space and time. How else could it be explained? Despite all that, he goes to bed every night anticipating on meeting the boy with the droopy eyebrows. 

☾

Propping himself up in bed, Minho closes his eyes and rests his head against the headboard tiredly. He can still feel the warmth of the other’s body pressed against his.

_“I thought I’d never see you again.” The other chokes out, barely keeping their tears from falling._

_Minho tightens his hold on the other. "I want to meet you. Outside of our dreams." he says desperately. Cupping the other's face, he can see the exact same feeling reflected in their eyes just as the dream ends._

"I will find you." He has to.

 

 


	3. We Met in Our Dreams

Taehyun doesn’t like this dream right from the beginning.

He’s in the middle of the woods, it’s large and contorted like some sort of nightmarish rain forest. The tall tree trunks are twisted and black, their leaves are grays, purples, reds and other colors he doesn’t know. He thinks about staying in one place but the more he lingers in the dark forest, the creepier the whole place gets.

The terrain is impossible to move through, the hills are craggy and the roots of the trees are obstructing. Taehyun trips, stumbles, falls, and scraps his knees, but now is not the time to cry like a baby. He has to be strong and find a way out of here!

He goes on for what feels like hours before seeing a bright light and when he pushes through the last of the bushes his eyes are assaulted with vibrant colors. Being clumsy as he is, Taehyun trips over his own feet and when he looks up he sees another pair of scarred knees. As he continues upward he sees dark shorts and a blue shirt with a familiar pudgy tanned face staring back at him.

Startled at the realization, Taehyun scoots back until he hits the back of his head with a tree. “Ow!” He yelps in pain but quickly covers his mouth as he remembers the other boy is here.

“Are you alright?” He asks concernedly, taking a cautious step toward him and trying to see if he’s okay.

Taehyun’s eye widen at the proximity and he scurries to hide behind the trunk of the tree, as if the boy is the scariest thing in this dream and not the creepy forest he just spent who knows how long trying to escape out of.

Although the boy looks wary, he gathers enough courage to reach Taehyun and can finally see what he looks like up close. He feels his breath catch.

"What?" Taehyun blurts out once he snaps out of his initial shock, getting annoyed at the tanned boy just staring at him so weirdly.

"Nothing!” The boy backs away a little. “It's just..." he trails off, hands knitting together nervously.

"Just?" Taehyun prompts, wanting the other to just spit out whatever he’s going to say.

"You're very cute!" He rushes out, cheeks hot at his confession.

Taehyun does his best to ignore the strange warm feeling that spreads through him at the boy’s words and looks away with a pout. “Whatever…” he grumbles more to himself than to the other.

“It’s Taehyung, right?”

Taehyun snaps his head back a second later. “Wha…no! It’s _Tae Hyun_ , and how do you even know that?” The boy shrugs as his only answer and Taehyun rolls his eyes. “Well it’s rude to talk to someone without introducing yourself.”

“Oh yeah,” the boy agrees and then points to himself. “I’m Minho!” he says with a grin so bright Taehyun doesn’t know if it’s healthy or not for it to be that way.

“Why are you here?” Minho asks a second later, tilting his head to the side curiously.

 _This guy…is something else,_ Taehyun thinks. Like if he isn’t the one invading Taehyun’s dream and acting as if _he’s_ the stranger. “I wasn’t going to stay in there!” He points behind him and when he turns it’s nothing but a void of darkness with a scary purple glow in the back. Now that he thinks about it, it doesn’t look appealing to go back in there at all.

Minho seems to catch on to his thoughts as well and grabs Taehyun’s hand. “That’s fine! We can just explore here instead. I’ve been wanting to talk to you ever since you saved me from those guys.” He says, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks once again. Taehyun feels his own heat up unknowingly and before he can reply they hear a twig snap from the dark forest.

Minho tugs on Taehyun’s hand, “Quick, this way is safer!” but as they are running the place filled with yellows, greens, blues, and oranges begins to fade into blackness and Taehyun wakes up in his bed.

His little brother’s face comes into view the next moment as he hovers over Taehyun’s bed. "Who's Minho?" Donghyun asks, face confused but also curious.

Taehyun rubs at his eyes sleepily. "Huh?"

"You said 'Minho' in your sleep. Is he a friend? Can he come over to play with us?" Donghyun pleads, growing excited by the second.

Taehyun pushes his younger brother away as he sits up. "He's no one. Go get ready for school before Mom has both our heads." He says with a yawn and begins to stretch.

Donghyun pouts and does what he’s told but not before hearing Taehyun repeat the name to himself, almost as if he was testing it out for the first time. Weird…

………….

Now that Taehyun knows the boy’s name—Minho, and finally interacted with him, he really wants to see him again. And when night comes he doesn't protest as his mom tells him to go to bed and falls asleep quickly, eagerly awaiting to see Minho.

___________

Taehyun. The boy’s name is Taehyun! Minho can’t stop the big goofy smile from forming on his face after waking up from his last dream. The boy really is cute with the way he pouts and even though he acted a little indifferent, he didn’t seem to mind talking to Minho and that’s all the opening he needs. He’s bursting with energy for the rest of the day and falls asleep rather early for once. Which surprised his parents because it’s rare to see their energetic son appear so excited at the thought of going to bed.

☾

There is a prism of tropical colors surrounding the whole place and the sound of waves crashing against each other nearby. Taehyun stands in the center with his feet in the sand. 

"There you are!" 

Taehyun turns around to see Minho sitting comfortably from a thick branch of a tree, a warm smile spread across his face.

"I tried to get us to safety and then you disappeared!" He pouts as he twists around the tree, climbing until his feet thud against the ground. 

"How do you know when I'm around?" Taehyun asks, closing the remaining distance between them.

"I hear this bell every time I dream. So I just follow it until you appear, but this time I didn’t have too, you just showed up!”

Taehyun doesn’t really understand what bell Minho is referring to but the dream is a lot different from the ones Taehyun is used to having. He can tell they are at a beach based on the scenery and details, but Taehyun finds it’s a bit weird just _how_ detailed the place is. He hasn’t visited the sea since he was six. “How did we get here?”

"This place, it does what I want. Look at this," Minho’s voice sounds daring and he points to the ocean. Taehyun follows his finger and when he does the crystal blue water swirls out of existence and instead a deep red replaces it.

"How did you do that?" Taehyun asks, unable to hide the wonder in his voice.

"I dunno…I guess I just think and it has to listen," Minho shrugs as orange clouds slowly creep across the sky. “Why don’t you try?”

Taehyun doesn’t really know how to work it but he closes his eyes and goes with the first thing that comes to his mind. When he opens them up again they're no longer at the beach but in a dome of trees with leaves of teal and bushes of light pinks and blues.

Minho has a big toothy grin beside him. “Cool, huh?”

☾

Seeing Minho after that becomes much easier, in fact he sees him most nights and the few times he doesn't he can't complain. He grows close to Minho as their dreams develop and considers him a friend. In their dream world they can go exploring and run around doing anything they want until it's time to wake up.

It's much more fun than going to school and having Jinwoo bother him, or having Seungyoon get all in his personal bubble when he just wants some quiet. Minho lets him be quiet when he wants to and is fun when he's tired of the quiet and that's the best. _Minho_ is the best. That's why he can't tell anyone about Minho. 

………….

As they get older, Taehyun grows more and more afraid that if he tells anyone about Minho that they'll take him away. He knows he isn't normal, because it's not normal to dream of someone you haven't met or that you dream about them all the time. Taehyun doesn't care if Minho is real or not, at this point it's this insanity that keeps him sane.

When they're thirteen, Minho is the closest thing Taehyun has to a best friend, and the closest thing he'll ever have. They do everything together as they dream. Minho convinces him to do things he'd never do for real and it's okay because at the end they flop down in the soft grass and just talk about dumb things like how much food they could probably eat in one sitting or who could do the best imitations, which they fail miserably at. Taehyun also enjoys their serious talks to, like which artists they like or the different styles of music they enjoy. Minho, as Taehyun later discovers, has a talent with art and constantly draws him.

"It's pretty easy! All I need to do is draw droopy eyebrows and then I have all kinds of Taehyuns at my disposal!" Taehyun rolls his eyes at Minho’s explanation but he can't quite hide the pleased smile when Minho shows him his drawings.

Minho's interesting when he isn't super loud, but then again Taehyun also likes that side of him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to make some clarifications in case there are some questions or to just help understand where I'm going now that they have officially met and interacted. 
> 
> 1) In Taehyun's chapter, when he first dreams about Minho it's kind of like splattering paint to a white canvas, he's thrusted into this dream world first by all kinds of different images thats full of all these bright colors and such. It's only when he wants to approach Minho that the dreams feel more realistic.
> 
> 2) In Minho's chapter, he hears a bell and follows it until he reaches a door. It's kind of like a reference for the "Unknown Guest" because Minho is at first just a guest entering Taehyun's dreams and watching him from afar. The reason why Minho can't interact with Taehyun at first is because Taehyun hasn't acknowledged him in his own dreams. 
> 
> 3) Now that they have met they can finally start lucid dreaming together, and oh boy things will get interesting. 
> 
> 4) I didn't mention it in either the first or second chapter but if you're wondering their ages at the start/end of those chapters its 20/21. I at first wasn't going to have an exact timeframe just kind of shift from past to present but after redrafting the story I decided it was best to go from past and work my way to present, so I hope you guys won't mind if I don't focus on the present any time soon.
> 
> If you have any other questions or are curious about something let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to answer!


	4. Don't Wake Me Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mentions of drowning and panic attack

At fourteen Taehyun thinks this probably has to be the darkest their dream world has ever looked. It isn't the colorful nothingness he's used to when Minho is around, now it's muddy colors like crimson, taupe, ultramarine, and all those other colors he's learned since they met. The skies are blurs of greys and blacks with the occasional sound of thunder and lightning appearing as the wind rages against him. Taehyun can't find Minho anywhere in sight and spends his entire dream searching everywhere but their world has grown since they were kids and hard to make his way through. He wakes before he can find anything and spends the rest of the day worried. 

☾

Throughout all the dreams they’ve shared, they never meet when Taehyun naps, so seeing Minho curled up under an ugly looking tree with no greens or blues at all concerns him right from the start.

When he reaches Minho, Taehyun can see he’s crying. "What's wrong?" he asks, noticing how the only sounds he hears are from Minho, it’s almost as if everything is in a standstill. Minho continues to cry silently to himself and Taehyun lets him. Knows Minho will eventually tell him when he’s ready.

Some time passes like that, Taehyun right beside Minho and occasionally brushing some of his hair out of tanned his face until Minho sits up.

"It's my little sister...Danah, she's sick." 

Taehyun feels his heart drop at the croakiness of Minho's voice. "What's wrong with her?" he hesitantly asks.

"I really don't know. One day she wasn't feeling well and now she's at the hospital with my parents, i-it doesn’t look good..." Minho buries his face into his knees. "I'm scared...what if she doesn't pull through? Danah is the strongest person I know, she's can't..." he hiccups as fresh tears begin to form. "I don't want to wake up, Taehyun. I don't want to wake up in a world without her!" 

Taehyun swallows the information down with difficulty. _His sister…_ He usually wasn’t one to initiate contact first—that always belonged to Minho, but Taehyun can’t hold himself back as Minho leans against him. Wrapping an arm around his shoulder, Taehyun pulls Minho to his chest in a tight embrace, feeling Minho grip him back just as tight.

Minho raises his head after a while, cheeks tear-stained and face all bloated and puffy from crying. A rather unappealing sight but to Taehyun, he’s never seen Minho look so raw and open, and _hurting_. He wipes at Minho’s tears with the sleeve of his shirt. “Then let’s stay here for as long as we can.”

If Minho is real he hates everything…and if he isn't then Taehyun hates himself for doing this to his friend. 

☾

A week goes by afterwards and Taehyun doesn’t see Minho in his dreams at all. All he has are these imprints and dreams with versions of himself without Minho and he hates it. It's almost as if his dreams are trying to make up for the lack of Minho by normalizing everything. 

………….

He’s in the middle of the sea and only has a second to realize that as a wave comes crashing down on him. Knocking him underwater and causing him to swallow a mouthful of the salty water as he rolls with the waves. They continue to crash against him, slamming his body harder and harder down as he tries miserably to resurface.

Through his panic, Taehyun hears what sounds like crying and recognizes it as Minho’s. He desperately pushes his legs and arms to swim upward.

“Minho!” He coughs out, struggling to remain on the surface when he manages to breach it. Minho is nowhere in sight and after multiple attempts, Taehyun feels himself sinking back into the cold, wet darkness, his last breathes coming out in little bursts.

_Minho…_

………….

Taehyun wakes up screaming with that one. Head pounding and every cell in his body crying out for oxygen. His chest heaves up and down rapidly, taking lungsful of air in noisy rasps. The urgency to breathe being more important than ever.

His mom rushes into his room at the sound of his screams. “Taehyun?” At the sight of seeing her son thrashing in his bed, hands practically clawing at his throat, she hurries over to him. “Taehyun, are you okay? What’s wrong?” He feels her own hands removing his and an arm go around him as she props him up.

“There was w-water,…lots ahh…chest hurts…r-really bad…a-and Min—” He only manages to choke out, still trying to fight unconsciousness as he starts to get lightheaded from the lack of air.

She shushes him and feels the tremor of his body rack through him. “Taehyun, sweetie you’re breathing too fast. You need to slow down.”

He tries to and focuses on the hand rubbing soothing circles on his back as his mom continues to help him regulate his breathing.

“That’s it, slowly now.” She says as his panic eventually subsides and his breathing returns to a normal pace. “It was just a dream. You’re okay, you weren’t drowning. I promise none of it was real.”

 _It’s all a dream?_ Why did it feel so real? He feels his hands shake as they grip the sheets of his bed.

Even after he assures his mom he’ll be okay, tears slip down his cheeks once she's gone. A sense of anguish, more so than pain, has taken rule of his heart, and for the life of him, Taehyun can’t tell what’s happened to Minho but he fears the worst.

☾

A month goes by when Minho finally makes an appearance. 

Taehyun finds him near the beach he’s grown accustomed to since they began dreaming, his hands clasped together in prayer as he sits under a huge shady tree.

"Minho..." He calls out cautiously. 

Minho opens his eyes at the call of his name and when their gazes meet there's recognition, but no unbelievable happiness. He gives Taehyun a sheepish smile in greeting. "Hey." 

"Hi..."  _I thought you were gone for good._

No other words are exchanged.

It's too quiet for Taehyun's liking, a million questions running through his mind but none make their way out of his throat. 

"I thought I heard you," Minho says at last, Taehyun blinks confusedly at him in return. 

"The bell. It chimed not that long ago and now you're here." He explains. "Sorry I've been gone for a while. Did you miss me?" Minho offers a smile that doesn’t really reach his lips. 

Taehyun wants to reply with a  _yes_  but stops himself, instead he observes Minho. He looks pretty much the same but there seems to be a hidden sadness lying underneath. Taehyun gets the feeling that even though he's been trying to avoid asking what’s happened to Minho since they last saw each other, he already knows.

He falls to the ground in front of him, knees sinking into the warm sand. "I'm s—" 

Minho shakes his head and silently beckons Taehyun to sit next to him. Taehyun does and Minho takes his hand, squeezing it softly. "Do you have any siblings, Taehyun?" 

"A b-brother, he's much younger than me though." He stutters out, heart picking up at the feel of Minho's hand in his.

Minho hums in acknowledgement and begins to caress Taehyun's hand with his thumb absentmindedly, "You should always treasure him, even if you guys fight or get upset at each other. He’ll always be someone you can rely on, y’know?” He feels his throat tightening and clears it. “Danah and I…we’ve always been a duo. Ready to take on whatever together.”

"Min—" Minho stops him again and leans his head on Taehyun's shoulder. "I missed you. I missed this place." 

Taehyun grows silent as he lets Minho's words sink in. The only sounds heard are coming from the sea. 

"I'm sorry." Taehyun finally breaks, the tears he’s been holding slide hotly down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry." _I'm sorry this happened. I couldn't be there for you..._

Minho lets out a shuddering breath and turns to give Taehyun a watery smile. "It's alright. You're here now and that's all that matters." Taehyun nods and looks deeply into Minho's eyes, ignoring how he must appear to Minho with his tears and blotchy face. It's a sight he really doesn't like to show anyone, but Minho is the only exception.

"Strange," Minho says, head tilted to the side as he observes him. 

"What is?" Taehyun sniffles.

" _You_." He jokes and earns a shove from Taehyun with the hand not entwined with his own. "I'm kidding! I just never noticed something." 

"Oh, and what's that?" Taehyun asks, already looking unimpressed with whatever Minho will say, but also relieved to see his friend acting like his old self.

"You have freckles." Minho states, looking at him like he just discovered one of the eighth wonders of the world. 

Taehyun immediately lets go of Minho's hand and brings his hands up to cover his face embarrassingly.

"Wha...Taehyun I didn't say they were bad!" He laughs and tries to move Taehyun's hands away from his face. "They aren't really that noticeable, only up close." 

"I don't care! I don't like them." Taehyun complains.

"Well I do, just like how I like your eyebrows or the mole on your thumb." Minho admits boldly. 

Taehyun lets his hands drop and stares at Minho with wide eyes. "You do?" Minho nods his head eagerly and sits up straighter. 

"Why?" He asks confusedly. Although Taehyun never cared what anyone had to say about them, they were his biggest complexities he struggled with to like at times. 

"I don't know, I just do." Minho shrugs with a grin, eyes staring softly at him. Taehyun looks away, hoping Minho won't see the blush he feels creeping up his face. He's used to Minho throwing compliments at him since they met but this time it feels different. More heated. Taehyun can't deny that he likes it. 

His attention is brought back when Minho stands up, offering his hand to Taehyun. "There's a place nearby that I want to show you." Taehyun doesn't even hesitate in taking his hand and lets Minho lead them.

Minho spends most of their walk talking about Danah; Taehyun smiles as he listens, enjoying the feeling of having Minho so close again. It's been four years and even though they aren't talking about kiddy things he feels just as close to the tanned boy as he did back then, because sometimes friendship is enduring the hard things too. 

By the end of the dream, their world now has a special place dedicated to Minho's sister. 


	5. Daydreaming

Minho is sixteen and a lot has changed since the previous year. Losing Danah still hurts and some nights he finds himself crying till he falls asleep, but it's a process that takes time and he slowly was coming to accept that. His dreams that were once muddled and foggy during that difficult time are now becoming the comforting colorful warmth he is familiar with and Minho likes to think it's due to being in Taehyun's presence again. He could sense some unknown guilt wavering through the other but Minho assured Taehyun it was something out of their control. In turn, Taehyun told Minho about the few dreams he had where he couldn't find him anywhere but he _felt_ him. The worst was when he told Minho about how he almost drowned in one. 

"It was almost as if you were the waves or something. I could hear you but every time I tried to get to the surface I just kept getting pushed down by more waves. I really thought I was drowning." Taehyun shudders at the memory. "But not by the water, by something else..." 

Minho tries to make sense of Taehyun's words. Could it be that his grief was so strong it overtook the dream's atmosphere, similar to how the colors reacted to Taehyun's mood when they were younger? If that's true, he understands now how easily his feelings can influence their place and wonders the extent and limitations they are capable of doing within their dreams.

☾

It's kind of become a routine of sorts for Minho to visit the little memorial he made for Danah before meeting up with Taehyun. Sometimes he'll show up and let Minho finish praying before sitting down and joining him, Minho appreciates that, along with the hand held in his. And he often wakes up with the lingering touch still there.

………….

This time however, Minho is lying on his stomach on the sandy beach near the shoreline. He's about to get up when he hears Taehyun. 

Taehyun emerges from the water, hair plastered to his face as he makes his way over to Minho, but that isn't what's got Minho's attention. He's been seeing a change in Taehyun lately, but it's not like he minds though.

"That's fascinating," his tone teasing as he props his hand underneath his chin to look at Taehyun.

"My face? I know." Taehyun grins at him.

Minho snorts as he shakes his head. "I thought this place was the only colorful thing here, guess not." 

"Shut up," Taehyun says as he runs a hand through his newly dyed hair. "I'm just experimenting with hairstyles and stuff." 

"But purple of all colors?" 

"What's wrong with purple?" He flicks water at him annoyingly.

Minho shrugs as he tries to avoid getting splashed. "I don't know, just not a color I would think of if I were to dye my hair." 

"What would you pick then?" 

Minho tilts his head up in thought. "Uh, blonde?" 

Taehyun rolls his eyes. "So typical." Minho scoffs as if offended, he isn't.

"And for the record," Taehyun says, bringing his attention back to him. "I like purple, so that's why." 

Minho makes a note of that. Adding it to the already long list of things Taehyun has admitted to him.

Lately Taehyun tells Minho more about himself than he has before, things like his family, friends, and his ever-changing interests. When they were kids, real life didn't matter outside their dreams but everything is starting to blend together these days and with it comes themselves. 

His musings are put on hold when he feels water slap into his face by an unsuspecting wave. Taehyun doubles over in laughter at his shocked expression as he sits upright. "You know you deserved that!" He says between laughs.

As much as Minho wants to enjoy admiring how Taehyun looks smiling, he has other ideas. Calmly standing up, he spits out some of the water from his mouth and then tackles Taehyun to the wet ground. 

They roll around in the sand as small waves slap against their body from time to time, their little rumble becoming a game of who can pin the other. 

Taehyun finally manages to pin Minho down with a satisfied smirk. "I win." He gloats.

"I guess..." Minho says defeatedly. Taehyun may be slimmer than him, but has a lot of strength in his body Minho wishes he had.

Taehyun stares down at him with some unknown look, hands still holding his own above his head, and Minho is reminded of what positions they're in when he feels Taehyun shift a little.

When he wakes he feels warm throughout his chest but it's quickly gone because as soon as his dad hears him moving around he's set to work on cleaning out the garage. 

☾

Minho isn't feeling well one day and heads to the nurse’s office at school to rest a bit. It's not long before his thoughts begin to dissipate and bit by bit his vision is filled with greenery. His eyes widen and he sees a forest, there's no aqua, teal, or gold, this place is completely void of the extravagant colors…it looks real. There are ferns and huge conifers with lush moss scaling their trunks and there's sunshine that sprinkles through the pines, the maples and the alder trees. The only thing that gives this place away is the telltale chime of the bell. It's enough to convince Minho to move, he pushes through the ferns and ducks under the branches of huckleberry bushes. The place may be beautiful to look at but making his way through is very tiring! 

He comes to the edge of a river, the bank is a mixture of soft sandy patches interspersed with areas of round pebbles, across the water is a large cliff with the roots of maples poking through the edges at the top and the trees themselves reach impossibly higher to the blue sky. It's what's on the bank that catches him off guard. There's Taehyun with his feet in the water, leaning back and just staring up. Minho kicks a rock by accident and the (newly) blonde tips his head so far back that he's upside down. 

"What are you doing here?" He asks, voice sounding just slightly cold. 

"I, huh, just followed the sound." Taehyun stares at him confusedly before remembering what Minho is referring to. 

"I'm not a bell." He says irritably.

"I know, and I'm not trying to pick a fight with you so ease off the tension." Minho replies as he edges closer to Taehyun, sometimes he was moody but never enough to deter Minho away.

"You're not a lot of things," Taehyun says as he looks back up at the sky, his arms folding under his head. Minho can't help but think that 'real' is one of those things that Taehyun thinks he's not…which is ridiculous because he's really not feeling well nor does he want to deal with anything else today. He wonders if this is how they found each other, because they needed a place to escape to from time to time. 

"I'll tell you what I am," Minho sits down beside him, his eyes catching sight of something near Taehyun's jaw. "Confused." 

"Why is that?" Taehyun asks as he flicks a pebble at him. It doesn't hurt when it lands, instead turning into a bubble that pops at the contact.

"What's that on your face?" He pokes gently and Taehyun releases a hiss. 

"It's nothing." Taehyun bats Minho's hand away, and turns away from him. Hand coming to touch the nasty bruise on his jaw and he grimaces.

"It's not nothing. Did someone do that to you?" His gaze darkens at the possibility.

"You didn't answer my question earlier." Taehyun answers instead, trying to deter the conversation away from himself.

"Felt sick, took a nap. Now you." Taehyun remains silent, looking out into the greenery. 

When he realizes Minho isn't going to drop the matter he sighs and gives in. "I got suspended from school, gives me lots of free time to catch up on sleep." 

"Why?" 

“‘Cause there isn't much else to do?" Taehyun says like it's the most obvious thing.

Minho holds himself back from getting upset at Taehyun's attitude. "You know what I mean." 

Taehyun bites the inside of his cheek. "I may have or may not have kicked the shit out of someone." 

"Why?" Minho repeats his question. 

"Just...shit." He shrugs as he flops onto his back.

Minho follows suit, turning his head to stare at Taehyun. "Like?"

Taehyun grows silent again but Minho can feel his agitation, it comes with the few dark clouds Minho sees not too far ahead from where they are. "Some idiot called me a fatherless bastard and badmouthed my family and friends, okay? I wasn't about to let him say anymore shit." He huffs out at last.

Minho stares at Taehyun for a long moment, taking in what he just admitted to him. "Did you at least get him good?" He eventually asks.

Taehyun turns to look at Minho disbelievingly before laughing. "Yeah, I think I broke his nose. But he did manage to get me once, the fucker." He says, rubbing the spot. "If it wasn't for Seungyoon coming up behind him I might have came out a lot worse."

"You should still be careful, the both of you." Even if Taehyun managed to scrap by without much injuries, Minho was still very concerned for him.

"Careful about what? If the guy is smart—which he obviously isn't, he’ll back off," He says. "At least now he'll think twice before messing with me or my friends again." 

"Why did he even do it in the first place?" 

Taehyun shrugs. "Probably to get a reaction out of me. Both Seungyoon and Jinwoo are dating now but they don't pay attention to any of the stuff people say to them. Guess I was the next best target."

"Dating? As in boyfriends?"

"Yeah, I guess," Taehyun just shrugs again like it's not a big deal.

Minho props himself up on his elbows and he watches Taehyun for a long while before he feels some sort of horror well up in his gut but it doesn't stop him. He leans over and Taehyun watches but doesn't pull away and it's almost no time at all before their lips meet. It's just as soft as Minho imagined… _imagined?_

When he opens his eyes he is, of course, in his own bed and the weight of what had happened crashes around him. He can't be gay, because if he is he's almost positive his dad will throw him out…no, he isn't, he absolutely isn't! He stands and he shakes his body to loosen up his muscles and maybe shake this realization out of his body. He gets ready to school and thinks that maybe for once he doesn't have to dream tonight. He probably made Taehyun uncomfortable anyway, it'd just be better if they didn't see each other for a while.

………….

When Minho goes to school he does what he can to forget about how unusually soft Taehyun's lips felt against his, and the gentle build up that was between the two of them. It was just a dream, Taehyun was just something in his head that he created when he was bored…obviously. He realizes how psycho he sounds so he tries even harder to forget. He doesn't dream for a while, trying to enjoy the dreamless sleep, but when he keeps thinking back to the kiss he grows frustrated and confused. 

Three weeks later he grabs a random chick during lunch hour and he presses his lips against hers. Their teeth click, and she's too surprised then suddenly too enthusiastic for it to be enjoyable. He pulls back and his lip twitches…it was very underwhelming, and nothing like he wanted it to be. He doesn't know if it's just the girl, but he finds it's not an endeavor he wants to attempt again with anyone. Time has stopped for everyone else but Minho, the girl has a dazed flush on her face and the girls around them are stunned into silence. 

He doesn't expect to be caught in the face with a solid right hook from the girl's boyfriend later that day though. Minho feels the padlock on the locker behind him dig into his back and he hisses in pain. Before Jihoon can stop them they're rolling around on the ground, fighting again until they're both forcefully separated and suspended.

When Minho gets home, he's sporting a nasty black eye, but it's all okay because he thinks he broke the other guy's nose and remembers Taehyun's own little victory. He probably would be happy to see Minho defend himself so well. His parents on the other hand disagree. They ground him and send him to his room, saying they'll talk about what happened later. It doesn't really matter because now he has his cell phone and everything else in there, yet he still manages to just go up and fall asleep.

☾

The first thing he sees when he opens his eyes again are angry brown eyes in front of him. Before he knows it, the blonde is picking up whatever he can and throws it at him. Minho deflects the rocks but as they hit him they feel more like balled up socks. "The hell was that all about? You just go and do that and you run away!? You're such a coward!" Taehyun's shouts over the wind and above them the skies are black and the rain is falling around them harshly. The worst Minho has ever seen compared to when it's hurricane season where he lives.

"Taehyun? The hell stop throwing shit at me!" Minho grunts as he's backed against a tree, he has no idea where they are, but it's still the forest area.

"And now you finally show up?" Taehyun...seems angry at him for his disappearance more so than the actual kiss.

"Can we just forget it?" Minho says and he thinks about grabbing Taehyun's wrists just so he can get out of the line of fire.

"Forget it?" Taehyun stumbles for a second just as the weather grows darker. "You're such a fucking asshole!"

"I'm sorry, it just kind of happened!" Minho's angry by this point and he's not sure why, maybe it's because he's getting drenched by the rain. He wonders if Taehyun really hated it that much...but tries to get away from that thought as much as he wants to get away from the fact that he kissed Taehyun in the first place.

"'Just kind of happened,' that's such a lame answer," Taehyun throws one last thing before he leans against the tree. "Asshole," Taehyun says with a huff. 

There's a tension filled moment between them before Taehyun leans forward, resting all his weight on one arm and their lips meet again. It quickly grows desperate, as if this moment has been building up for a very long time and Minho just goes with it. Enjoying the way Taehyun's lips feel against his and Minho just _knows_ this feels right, more than it did with that girl.

When Taehyun finally pulls back, he has a little pout on his lips that makes Minho crave for more. "I'm not upset at you because you kissed me, I'm upset because I like you, you ass!" He hits Minho's chest but it doesn't really hurt. "And then you went and disappeared on me? You didn't even give me a chance to respond..." 

Minho licks his lips, tasting the rain and Taehyun on them. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how you would react." He says as the weather begins to clear up and brighten around them. 

Taehyun places a hand on his hip and shakes his head. "Maybe wait around next time instead of...wait what happened to you?" He takes a step closer to Minho, brows worrying together.

"Huh?" Minho sees Taehyun move to touch where his black eye is and he catches the slim wrist. "Oh that, I got in a fight at school. Got suspended as well." He admits sheepishly. Taehyun raises an eyebrow at that, Minho was never the fighting type. In fact, given the option to run Minho would do just that, and has. 

"Okay, you know how I got this," Taehyun points to his bruised jaw, which now looks less bad then the first time he saw it. "So what about you? No one’s bullying you again, right?" 

"No! I'm sixteen not ten." 

"Sure don't act like it..." Taehyun mutters and Minho snorts in amusement. 

"After the kiss thing, I sort of freaked and decided to settle my feelings so I kissed a girl." He glances at Taehyun warily but the other doesn’t seem to mind. "What I didn't expect was that she had a boyfriend." 

Taehyun laughs and Minho joins him. "Did it prove anything?" He says once they settle down.

"Yeah," Minho looks at Taehyun seriously. "Black eyes really fucking hurt."

………….

They move to sit on top of the cliff Minho realizes they're standing on, their legs dangling over the edge, a river is several feet below them.

"So, you like me?" Minho starts, feeling his body buzz at the thought.

"Yes." Taehyun says, his cheeks warming. Remembering how he was the one this time to kiss Minho.

"Like, actually like like me?" 

"Oh my god, _yes_!" He laughs at Minho’s childishness, shoving him to the side.

Minho breaks out into a wide smile, reaching for Taehyun's hand. "I like you too."

"I figured you did,” Taehyun tips his head to the side, letting his blonde hair fall back dramatically. “I am quite the looker.”

Minho snickers to himself but can't complain either. Instead he leans forward and cups Taehyun's cheek with the hand not holding his. Taehyun meets his gaze and smiles at him. When their lips meet again, it's more softer and gentler than the first two kisses. Minho can feel Taehyun’s smile throughout and he feels himself smiling too as they continue to kiss.


	6. Head or Heart

Things start changing between them half a year after they've established their feelings for one another. Minho finds out that Taehyun has liked him for quite some time and knew about Minho's own feelings longer than he did. 

"You're too shameless at times." He explains as they walk hand in hand next to the shoreline, the water touching their feet as the waves come and go. Taehyun's hair is now a nice burgundy that Minho thinks really brings out his features more, but then again Minho thinks Taehyun could probably pull off anything. Maybe he really is shameless...

Taehyun looks to the side to see Minho grinning weirdly to himself and bumps him with his hip. "See what I mean. Who knows what is going through your mind right now." 

"I'll show you then," Minho says as he gives him a wicked smile. 

"Oh?...Wait, no!" Taehyun tries to turn away when he sees what Minho is planning to do but his hand is still clutched in Minho's and suddenly an arm swoops around his waist and pulls him towards his tanned chest. 

"Oh yes!" Minho laughs and Taehyun can't stop himself from smiling. 

"No! Minho let me go!" He protests as he squirms in his hold, trying to make Minho release him but his grip on Taehyun is stronger than he anticipated for a guy like Minho and instead gives up as Minho begins to spin them around. Taehyun bursts out laughing at the playfulness and twists a little in Minho's arms to smile back at him. Minho eyes crinkle in the corners as he laughs, truly enjoying the moment with Taehyun.

However, they're both unaware of how close they are edging to the water and definitely aren’t expecting for Minho's foot to slip on the mushy sand and cause both of them to tumble into the water. The next thing they both are aware of is how wet and freezing they are. 

"Shit that's cold!" Minho says, teeth chattering as he resurfaces. 

Shivering, Taehyun agrees and wraps his arms around his soaked self. "I was going to warn you about the water!" 

"When?" Minho stands but quickly falls back down when a unsuspecting wave crashes behind him. Taehyun laughs but is quickly knocked over as well, which in turn causes Minho to break out into hysterical giggles. 

"Shut up," Taehyun coughs out and trudges over to him to try and push him down. Minho grabs his hands and pulls him into a hug instead. Not expecting that, Taehyun's balance is knocked off and they fall back into the water as another wave comes up behind them. "AH!" They both yell but one look at each other when they reemerge has them laughing once again. 

"Why is it s-so c-cold?" Taehyun stammers out when a breeze passes by, rubbing his arms to regain some heat. 

"I have no idea but we s-should get-t out of-fff these wet clothes s-soon." The wind begins to pick up and causes them both to shiver. "T-There's a cabin n-n-near here!" Minho manages to get out and pulls Taehyun closer to him. "I'm sorry for causing this," 

Taehyun just shakes his head. "It's f-fine, but-t-t carry m-me!" Minho manages to give an amused smile at him but Taehyun ignores it and wraps his arms around his neck as Minho hikes him up, carrying him bridal style towards the cabin. Shameless indeed!

………….

They're huddled close together on a rug in front of the fireplace within the cabin with blankets wrapped around them as their wet clothes are piled nearby. Simply enjoying the warmth radiating from the fire and each other. 

The light flickering from the fireplace almost makes Taehyun's hair appear even redder than it is and Minho wants to run his hands through it, so he does. Taehyun makes a noise of content and turns his head to lean more into his touch. 

Taehyun opens his eyes to stare at Minho as he busies himself with his hair. "How old are you again, Minho?" He asks, breaking the peaceful silence between them. 

"I'm 17." Minho answers distractedly, still focus with how soft Taehyun's hair feels between his fingers.

"That means you'll be graduating soon," Taehyun muses. Minho hums in agreement. "What do you want to do with your life?" 

Minho pauses to think about that. He hasn't really been focusing on his future these days. His grades are passable but he hasn't even decided if he is going to college or not. Maybe if he was asked years ago he would probably have an exact answer, but now? He isn't so sure. "Err, I don't know. I guess I haven't really given it much thought...huh." 

Taehyun leans his head on Minho's shoulder. "Well if you could do whatever you want, what would you do? Like maybe be an artist? You draw really well and come up with a lot of creative stuff."

Minho mulls Taehyun's words over. "That would be nice to do...but it's more of a hobby for me than anything. Maybe I just haven't found my calling yet." He shrugs casually.

"Well we are still young, there's bound to be something you can do." Taehyun agrees. Minho frowns. He took the words at face value, but somehow he could sense that Taehyun had wanted to tell him something else.

"So, what about you?" He asks, curious about Taehyun's own answer.

"I'm thinking about pursuing something with music, right now I'm taking a few classes and working some odd jobs to help pay for it all."

"Music?" Minho sits up straighter and removes his hand from Taehyun's hair, his interest now focused entirely on Taehyun. "Do you sing or play an instrument?"

Taehyun nods, growing shy. "I sing... I also write and compose a little, but I'm still learning how to play the guitar and a few other things."

"That's awesome Taehyun, you should let me hear you! I'm sure you have a sweet voice." He leans in closer to Taehyun, giving his best pout in hopes the other would give in.

Taehyun scoffs and pushes Minho away from him. "Next time," he says, hearing a whine of complaint. "I promise."

They look at each other for a long moment, before Taehyun places his hand on Minho's cheek, caressing the shell of his pierced ear, fingering the two hoops and tracing the black stud with the pads of his finger. He leans back a little to admire Minho's long lashes as his eyes flutter close. 

There was only this, and the delicate sounds of them breathing — in, out, and Minho's chin tilts upward as if pulled by a string; only the movement softer, gentler, Taehyun's thumb traces the hollow of Minho's eyes, down his cheeks, to the tip of his nose where he presses a kiss on the small mole there. He lips graze Minho's lips as his teeth pulls Minho's bottom lip downwards, eliciting a groan to escape from Minho's throat. 

Just as Minho is about to capture his lips in a kiss, Taehyun pulls back, abruptly ending their little moment. "If drawing is only going to be a hobby for you, you should draw me." 

Minho lets out a disappointed sigh and looks at him with a smile. "I already have, hundreds of times." Taehyun shakes his head as he sits back, removing the blanket and letting it fall behind him. His smile is quickly swept away as he stares at Taehyun's exposed body. 

Taehyun has never done such a bold act and he basks in Minho's heating gaze. Minho seems to pick up on Taehyun's hidden meaning and swallows audibly, his throat suddenly dry.

"Do you really want to do this?" He asks, watching the way Taehyun's skin flushes as his chest rises and falls.

"I don't know, I just know that I really want you to touch me right now." 

Their relationship has grown significantly from simple handholding and shy kisses, they've spent a lot more time exploring each other but it's never breached past that. It was all made up of fleeting, unsure, tiny little steps at first—until now it seems. 

The air feels so heavy that it pushes down on them, pushing Minho closer towards Taehyun, his own blanket slipping off his shoulders. Soon enough Minho is burying his face in the crook of Taehyun's neck, wrapping his arms around the smooth planes of Taehyun's body.

From that moment their actions become more frantic, less guarded, and the wild unleashed. He begins at Taehyun's throat, nipping gently at the skin, searching for all the places that would make the other quiver. Minho sucks harder at his neck, feeling when Taehyun swallows the lump in his throat, and smiles. Peeking a glance up at his face, he sees that Taehyun has his eyes closed and lips parted in bliss, a look of pure surrender. 

Minho lifts Taehyun's chin with a finger for better access to the soft flesh just below his jaw. He runs his tongue roughly over the sensitive skin, hearing Taehyun's sharp gasp as the grip on his shoulders tightened. His tongue moves all around Taehyun's neck, letting it graze over that spot that could render him a weak-kneed mess. Taehyun, all the while, shakes and gasps, threatening to writhe against the other man as his breaths quicken. 

When Minho at last is satisfied with the constellation of red blotches he has left etched along Taehyun's throat, he bends himself lower to trail kisses down the other's collarbone to his chest, arriving tauntingly at his nipples. Minho drags the tip of his tongue in slow circles around one nipple while his forefinger does the same to the other. The small nubs hardened instantly at the touch, practically begging to be tweaked and pinched. Taehyun's entire body is trembling by then as his pants leave him in short, desperate breaths. Minho decides to test him further, taking the hardened peak between his teeth and gradually biting down, slow enough so that the other man becomes accustomed to the feel.

Minho shifts Taehyun onto his back as he kneels down and continues his ministrations with a deliberate sluggishness, placing kisses here and there all around Taehyun's chest and stomach, dipping his tongue in and out of his navel, running his hands across the taut flesh of his abdomen, praising his inner thighs with languid kisses, all while Taehyun lays there trembling in pleasure. He keeps his lips tightly pursed, refusing to allow any more sounds to escape him. Minho, however, practically sings as he moves his lips over his body, letting low hums and soft moans leave him as he fervently licks and sucks at Taehyun's skin. The sound was maddening to Taehyun's ears, Minho's moans sinking into him like a sweet intoxication. 

He takes Taehyun's cock in his hand and gives it a few strokes, flicking his tongue at the tip where the slit glistened with precum. Taehyun can feel himself being driven over the edge at the lightest stimulation, groaning as he fights to keep from bucking his hips. Minho flicks his tongue over the tip inside his mouth, swallows down the bit of precum he can taste, then sinks back down on the cock. Taehyun twitches below him, hips jutting up just, pushing himself back in. Minho lets it happen, sucks hard as he sinks back down, eager for more. He works himself into an easy rhythm, and hollows his cheeks just a bit. Taehyun can feel the muscle rubbing against him, can feel Minho swallow down around him. The sensation makes him squirm, heels digging into the rug and thighs going tense. When Minho's tongue glides up the underside of his shaft, he could take it no more and gives a breathy warning before coming. Minho halts for a second before swallowing it all down. 

Taehyun pants beside him when Minho pushes off him, he hovers over Taehyun and soon they're back to kissing heatedly, tongues melding against the other's. Even with remnants of himself lingering in Minho's mouth, he tasted positively incredible to him, like sweet purity. It amazed Taehyun how Minho could suck him dry one moment and then kiss him with such tender curiosity the next.

"There's something I want to try, will you let me?" Minho asks when they break for air, his hand running soothingly up and down Taehyun's back. 

Taehyun opens his eyes dazedly and nods his head, watching Minho smile as he sits up. "C'mere." 

He wants to question what Minho wants to do but once he's leveled with him, Minho motions for Taehyun to sit on his lap. Taehyun moves just a little, breathing out hard. Minho's legs are tight, almost trembling. He feels Minho settle his dick between his ass and tenses but Minho soothes his discomfit by saying, "I promise I'm not going to enter you. Just let me try something." 

Minho waits for Taehyun to give approval and once Taehyun does, he thrusts properly once, twice, listening to Taehyun's uneven breathing, and then settles into something like a rhythm between his ass cheeks and thighs. Taehyun ducks his head to bite at Minho's shoulder, and Minho grunts with it, thighs pressing in tighter somehow. It's sweaty. It feels like a _fuck_ , and it feels good. 

Taehyun pants down against Minho's chest and groans when Minho semi spreads his ass; Minho's panting just as hard. "Oh fuck, Taehyun," he moans. Every muscle in his body seems to tense up at once, and his back bows into an arch that only releases to let his hips buck senselessly. 

Minho doesn't last much longer at the feeling of his dick brushing up against Taehyun's entrance and he comes hard, gasping in great sweeps of breath against the side of Taehyun's neck. When Minho's able to catch his breath again, he releases his grip and lets his hand lie on Taehyun's wet ass. Taehyun shudders, his pulse going helplessly fast. He begins to move his hips rhythmically back and forth, until he chokes out Minho's name and comes for a second time. Crumbling on top of him in a pleasure-filled haze.

After his breathing returns normally again, Taehyun feels Minho run his fingers through his hair in a loving and concerned way, "You okay?" 

Taehyun can't find any strength in his voice and simply nods. Snuggling closer to Minho and basking in the warmth from their heated bodies.

………….

This continues for two more months and Taehyun feels Minho's hands on his body, caressing him until he sings with pleasure. Lips at his neck and his own hands sliding along warm flesh and sifting through soft tresses. Honey flesh arches beneath his finger tips and there are sweet noises filling his ears…it's at sixteen that Taehyun knows what it's like to be loved completely and he can't let go of it. He refuses to. Everything seems to be going perfectly. 

And that's exactly how the doubts start to slip in.

☾

School is especially annoying today and what makes it worse is that the other girls in the class are starting to work up the guts to talk to him once again since the whole suspension thing a little over a year ago. Normally he wouldn't mind the attention but he's genuinely not interested in accepting anyone's feelings. 

The best place to go for some peace and escape from the constant confessions is the library, at least there he can create the illusion that he's busy doing work and not be bothered as much. 

Which is exactly where Taehyun is today with Jinwoo, as he tries to help him get through a lesson he didn't quite understand in class. For some time, they make good progress with their work until the focus shifts when they're interrupted by a girl.

After politely turning her down, Taehyun looks back to Jinwoo and sees his friend giving him a questionable look. "What?" 

"You've been rejecting girls back to back, is there any reason for it?" 

He shrugs and flips the next page of his textbook. "Just not my type I guess." 

Jinwoo doesn't look convinced and tilts his head to the side, his doe-eyes observing him intently. "That doesn't explain why you look like it's such a pain every time someone asks you out. It's a bit strange." 

"Turning someone down isn't always a smooth thing to do, you know." Taehyun says pointedly.

"True, but you've never had a problem doing it before." 

"Yeah, why are you so bothered by it? I thought you liked girls." Seungyoon says as he arrives at their table. He sits facing Taehyun and turns to give Jinwoo a small peck in greeting as he shrugs off his backpack. 

"Are we really going to talk about me right now?" 

"Yeah," they both say in unison, smiling cheekily as they high-five each other.

Taehyun silently debates with himself on what to say as he stares at his friends' faces. He knew sooner or later they'd pick up on his behavior. Letting out a sigh, he closes his textbook. "I do like girls, but I think I might also like guys too." _At least I know of one that I do._

Both Jinwoo and Seungyoon exchange glances with one another before looking back at Taehyun. "Well I mean..." Seungyoon trails off as he eyes Taehyun in a knowing manner.

"We kind of figured you did." Jinwoo finishes for him, shrugging as if it's the most normal thing to say. Which probably is true, even Taehyun doesn't really find it a surprise. He's attracted both male and female admirers over the years so it would make sense that he too would take an interest in both as well. 

"That aside, it doesn't explain why you've been acting a so weird lately. Are you seeing someone you don't want to tell us about?" Seungyoon asks as he leans back in his seat, Jinwoo shoots Taehyun a hurt look at the mere idea of his friend doing such a thing. 

There's a moment of pause as Taehyun thinks about how to answer Seungyoon. He can't just casually mention he's seeing someone in his dreams, now can he? Even to himself that sounds completely derange. He shakes his head and pushes the thought away; all this conversation is doing is giving him a headache and making his heart feel uneasy. "No, I'm not. What reason would I have?" 

"I don't know. Maybe they're a lot older than you? Or in some kind of secretive gang?" 

Taehyun snorts and shakes his head at the ridiculousness of his friend's suggestion. "Have any of you ever dreamt about stuff that felt too real at times?" He asks instead.

Jinwoo raises an eyebrow at the change in topic but still answers. "I never really remember anything when I wake up, it's all usually just a blur." 

Seungyoon nods in agreement. "Yeah, unless you meant those random dreams like going to school in my underwear or something embarrassing like that, than I guess so." 

"Oh!" Jinwoo raises a finger in the air as he remembers something. "I did once dream that I left the window to my room open and Rey and Bei escaped. I thought it was the end of the world but then when I woke up and they were okay. Does that count?" 

Seungyoon chuckles at Jinwoo's pout and pats his head adoringly when Taehyun scrunches his face up in dissatisfaction at his friends responses. "Uh, not really. I meant like you can _feel_ that it's real." 

"Define how real?" Seungyoon asks. 

Taehyun does his best to explain some of his dreams while avoiding mentioning Minho or any of the other explicit dreams he's been experiencing lately. When he gets to the dream about drowning, both Seungyoon and Jinwoo look concernedly at him. 

"The way you describe the place almost seems like it is real, but when was the last time you visited a beach? It's got to be years." Seungyoon says as he props his hand under his chin in thought. "The closest one is almost 6 hours away from here and the only body of water that we know of is the river near the forest from where we live." 

"Yeah, I sometimes dream I'm in forest from time to time but a good majority of my dreams I spend at this beach and some other places." _But I'm sure those are made up...so what does that mean about Minho? Is the beach a real place? Is_ he _a real person?_ Taehyun knows all this overthinking isn’t good for him but he needs to get some of these thoughts out of his head one way or another.

"Well I think it doesn't really sound like a dream, Taehyun. If anything, drowning in the ocean would be considered a nightmare, right?" Jinwoo adds, as he shivers at the thought of drowning in a dream. 

"I guess...do any of you ever feel like you are aware that you're dreaming? Like sometimes you know it's a dream but other times you're aren't too sure if it is?" 

At the confused looks from his friends, Taehyun runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "I'm sorry I'm sure I'm not really making any sense by this. It's just these dreams are getting complicated I guess." 

Jinwoo reaches over to grab Taehyun's hand and squeezes it as a reassurance. "No, it's fine, we're just glad you're talking to us about this instead of keeping it to yourself. We might not get completely what you're getting at but we're here for you." 

Taehyun gives him a half grin in return, "Thanks Jinwoo." He looks over to Seungyoon to see him still in deep thought. Jinwoo notices too and nudges his boyfriend. 

Seungyoon blinks and his attention is back on them. "Sorry, got a little lost there at the whole dream thing. It sounds so weird but also interesting... If you're dreaming things like that why don't you search it up, man? There's bound to be an explanation for all that." 

"Yeah, I just might." Hopefully he can find some answers about what all these dreams mean. Deep down all he really wants is for Minho to be real and extinguish any doubt from his head and heart.

☾

Meanwhile things on Minho's end are a lot different for him. He's genuinely happy and has a good thing going on with Taehyun. It doesn't even bother him that it's all happening in his dreams because he believes Taehyun _is_ real and just needs to dig a little deeper to find where he might be. Despite how much they've shared with one another, there are times where Taehyun is still hesitant about keeping things from him even when Minho pries for at least a last name or a location. He's sure it has to do with the thought of how real they are to each other, a dream is just a dream, but how long can they keep telling themselves that with everything they've experienced since they first started dreaming?

………….

After a few weeks of debating with himself, Minho finds he doesn't care anymore about keeping some things a secret. He sits his parents down one night and even though he fidgets with the knee of his pant leg the confession comes out easily. "I'm gay," He says, maybe it's a lie because he knows that when he dies he's going to be with Taehyun one way or another. He knows he's real because it's too devastating to think of the alternative. He knows that he's not really attracted to any other guys, and while girls are nice, he hasn't felt any strong connection with them in a long time, it's only Taehyun. 

They're deathly silent for a while and his dad clears his throat. "Gay…as in, you're attracted to males?"

"I'm sure as hell not boisterously happy," Minho says before he apologizes to his mom for cursing, but she doesn't notice, she's watching his dad too. "I don't care if you approve, I'd just like for us to be civil and when I've graduated we can talk as much as you need us to," Minho says.

"Okay…" his dad nods. "I'm glad we had this talk," He says simply, standing up and leaving the room as if Minho just told him how his day was. Minho wasn't expecting that, if anything he thought his dad would yell or react more negatively than a simple 'okay.' He knows he should be relief at that but he's not.

"Just let it sink in honey," his mom says and she offers him a smile. He doesn't realize his hands are shaking till his mom gathers them in her own to steady them. When they stand her arms extend and she gathers him in a tight hug. "You don't need to worry."

"Thanks mom…" He murmurs and as they pull back she rubs his back before she sends him on his way.

It's just before he goes to bed that he hears a knock on his door. His dad walks in and he sits on Minho's bed across from where Minho is sitting in his computer chair. "Minho," He starts and Minho is so shocked he almost doesn't know what to do.

"Yeah dad?" he says warily.

His dad stands and he begins to pace and after a few moments he beckons Minho over. He's reluctant but he stands and he feels his dad's large hand rest on his shoulder. "I'm proud of you Minho," He says firmly even though his voice is quiet.

Minho's eyes are wide as he stares at the man in front of him, it's the last thing he thought would be said to him. "Dad?" his voice is hardly there and his dad's hand squeezes his shoulder a little tighter.

"And I want you to know…that I love you no matter what. After your sister..." his dad stops to clear his throat, meanwhile Minho feels his eyes welling up. "Your mother and I decided that whatever you did with your life we would always support you, so it shouldn't matter who you love either. You’re our son—our child, and we're always going to love you just the same." he nods and it looks like he's about to leave but he isn't given the chance. Minho's arms are around his dad's torso and he's soon enveloped in one of the most comforting embraces he's ever experienced. He lets out a sob into his dad's shirt and he feels a hand on the back of his head…because he can't contain it. Minho had no idea how they would take the news, losing Danah was already the hardest thing they've all had to experience, he didn't want to give them more grief but that didn't seem to be the case now and he can't stop crying. His parents accepting him is the best thing he could hope for.

They stay like that for some time, until Minho calms down and he feels his dad's hand pat him firmly on the back. "Enough now," He says gently before he pulls back. He nods, and Minho isn't sure but he thinks there's a quirk at the corner of his lip, "You should get to bed, son," he says, slightly ruffling Minho's hair.

"Night, dad," Minho nods and does as suggested, he can't wait to share the news with Taehyun.

☾

When he dreams he is bursting with happiness and almost misses how foggy their world is. Just like that his smile dampens a bit and he breathes out a heavy sigh, something must be really bothering Taehyun tonight. He finds him near the shoreline and he sits down beside him.

Taehyun glances at him and takes in his expression. "You look really happy Minho," he says and tries to smile, but it's hollow.

"I talked to my parents tonight," he says, but he keeps an eye on Taehyun.

"About what?"

"…I came out, and my dad, he…he said he loves me no matter what," he admits. Taehyun has another smile on his face, this one reaching his eyes softly.

"I'm really happy for you Minho," It sounds more believable. "Tell me more," He says as he leans back, so Minho does until there's nothing left to say. They lay there together, just looking at one another and Taehyun looks like he wants to say something. Every time he opens his mouth, nothing comes out and he shakes his head when Minho looks at him expectantly.

"You know you can tell me anything Taehyun," He says and Taehyun nods, tries again, and fails.

"It's hard…maybe…maybe next time. I just, I can't think of how to say it," He whispers between them.

"Take as long as you need," Minho assures him. 

"I...I just don't want us to change," Taehyun says and it breaks his heart for two reasons. Minho wants their relationship to change because he knows that beautiful feeling, the one that loves him is Taehyun and no other, but also because it is changing anyway. The reality of their world is starting to take its toll on them—specifically Taehyun, and Minho knows this place is no longer something they want to exist in just their dreams. 

"Taehyun…I love you," He says softly, he needs Taehyun not to be filled with doubt but Taehyun just smiles sadly.

He feels Taehyun's fingers link with his and his eyes widen. Everything suddenly feels too realistic, more so than all the other times put together. He can feel the soft pads of Taehyun's fingers, he can feel the warmth spreading through him and he grips tighter, never wanting to let go as their eyes meet. "I wish…you were real Minho," Taehyun whispers just before their lips touch and Minho wakes.

He feels like his world has shattered as he stares at his ceiling, and even though it's 2 AM he can't fall back to sleep for the life of him. He can't dream, he dreams of absolutely nothing for days, or maybe weeks, and its torture because he needs to tell Taehyun that he is real. His friends stop mattering, his mom's love and his dad's gentle acceptance with them. He feels like he's going insane, because all of a sudden he's fucking normal and Taehyun is gone.


	7. While You Were Sleeping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for getting this chapter out later than I usually do ;_; I had a hard time trying to work a couple of things out throughout this chapter and even now I'm still a little unsure that it came out as I wanted...but anyways enjoy!

" _I wish...you were real Minho_."

The second those words leave Taehyun's mouth the image of Minho splits like splatters of paint and Taehyun wakes up. "No…no, no, no, nonononono, fucking no!" His eyes are wide as he stares at the ceiling of his bedroom and he wonders if he just did a stupid thing and chased Minho away by telling him that.

Sitting up in bed, Taehyun runs a hand through his messy hair and bites his lower lip anxiously. _I'll just apologize tomorrow, it's no big deal. Minho will understand_. He repeats to himself, trying to chase away the guilt he feels forming at the back of his head. It'll be better the next night when he sees Minho and explains to him his mistake, he’s sure of it.

The only problem about that is he dreams of absolutely nothing the whole night and wakes up disappointed the following morning. Figuring it's probably one of those times he doesn't see Minho for whatever reason, Taehyun does his best to not overthink it the rest of the day.

Eventually though, as he lays his head down and closes his eyes to sleep, Taehyun silently hopes for something— _anything_ to happen. It never works, instead his dreams are as unobtainable as they have been for the past couple of nights and Taehyun can no longer stop himself from worrying. The last time he couldn’t see Minho something terrible had happened to the other, and with no way of contacting him, Taehyun's last words to Minho leave a sinking feeling in his chest.

………….

Weeks go by and Taehyun can't sleep. He doesn't know what to do, because even when he does sleep there's nothing that meets him, no dreams of being loved, no dreams of being in some weird colorful world, no Minho…there's nothing.

☾

One day as he's making his way to class, Taehyun passes out due to exhaustion and when his eyes open again he sees a world that's everything like the dark forest he had found himself in when he first met Minho. It's filled with those same thistles, mauves, crimsons, burgundies, lilacs, blacks and grays. The trees are every bit as threatening as the chill in the air and it's through the trees that he sees a figure he thinks is Minho. The image is so blurry that he can't make anything else out, but he needs to go to him. Taehyun needs to tell Minho that he's sorry for what he said, that he needs to see him...has to know if he's real, but as he draws closer he's suddenly intercepted. It's as if there is an invisible barrier in front of him and no matter how hard he slams his fist or kicks against it, it won't budge. He tries yelling and calling out to Minho but all he can see is his distorted form shift here and there a couple of times. Eventually it fades away altogether and Taehyun is alone.

"Minho!" Taehyun rushes forward and trips over his own feet as the unknown barrier disappears, landing face first in a small puddle. Rising to his knees, he stares down at the puddle and watches as it seemingly becomes crystal clear.

Taehyun takes in his reflection and his eyes widen. He picks his head back up and looks around…the trees here are rounded and familiar looking. Taehyun suddenly realizes that this isn't just some creepy forest, this place is _his_ world. He spent so long invading Minho's world that he had never discovered that this place must belong to him. It's with that acknowledgement that Taehyun knows the answer to how this place came to be.

He had been so alone as a child. Angry at his abusive father leaving them with little to nothing, depressed he had to watch his mom constantly work to the bone to support them on her own, and burdened that his aging grandma had to care for two young boys that he must have created this. This dark, twisted looking place filled with all his negative feelings. Taehyun feels the heaviness of the place wrap itself around him like a vice at the thought.

With shaking legs, he stands and watches as puffs of breaths form from his mouth. The place has dropped in temperature and he wraps his arms around his trembling body. His fingers crack as they ball into fists and Taehyun knows what he needs to do. He starts willing things to be as he wants like Minho taught him…the sky is spread into a vibrant blue and the trees begin to twist into something familiar, something lush and beautiful, like the actual forest near his home.

It's so easy to navigate by the time he's done because even though he's torn up inside…he needs to convince Minho to follow him here. He needs it to be comforting, he needs to do anything he can to find him. When he's done it's a landscape that would explode the heart of any photographer or painter…yet as he sits and waits by the cliff where they shared their first kiss, there remains to be no sign of Minho.

As more weeks pass, Taehyun comes to the conclusion—no matter how bad the timing is on his part—that Minho is real, but if this is the price for his carelessness he wishes that Minho had stayed a dream. At least then it would hurt less.

☾

Things in his head are just as fucked up as they are in real life. He spends the next few weeks trying to convince his mom that he’s fine after his collapse in the hallway. The nurse informed them he was just fatigued and needed proper rest and sleep but his mom was insistent they go visit the doctors for a checkup.

Throughout the whole checkup, Taehyun is so bored and can barely stay awake, but just as he was about to nod off he overhears his mom discussing with the doctor about what could help make him fall asleep better. It makes him wonder just how bad he looks to not just his mom but everyone else. He stares up at the ceiling quietly…and can't believe how selfish he's been and thinks that…maybe he can go along with what his mother wants.

A few days later he doesn’t complain when his mom hands him a capsule to take before bed and simply swallows it down with water. The effects kicking in rather quickly for his first time and he falls into a dreamless sleep soon after.

………….

Everything returns to normal soon after. His mom continues as she always does, she takes care of him even when he doesn't want her to but he knows she loves him and is thankful for everything she does. Taehyun can't sleep without the pills but he also doesn't want to rely solely on them. He starts to work out more to build exhaustion and focuses most of his free time on music and hanging out with Seungyoon and Jinwoo. It feels a bit robotic and mechanical at times but he's doing well. He's doing well.

Sometimes though, he'd find himself thinking about Minho in passing and question himself again about if Minho was ever real. He couldn't be if he disappeared just like that... Taehyun tries to convince himself of that logic every time, but he can't stop his heart from fluttering just a little when he thinks of the other option and remembers the feel of Minho’s touch. Even though he was just a kid when he met Minho, they grew into each other and he really did fall in love with him. In fact, there are a lot of things Taehyun misses about Minho but it’s his presence that...

"Hey man, I know your hair is blue and all but that doesn't mean you gotta look like it as well." Seungyoon says, bringing Taehyun back from spacing out. Jinwoo slaps Seungyoon across the chest and gives his boyfriend a warning look. "Sorry," he grumbles out while rubbing his chest but Taehyun doesn't seem to mind.

Jinwoo turns back to look at Taehyun with a slight concern look on his face. "Are you okay, Taehyun? Just now you looked really sad..."

"I'm fine Jinwoo, there's nothing for you to worry about." He even offers a smile but Jinwoo doesn't look the slightest bit convinced.

"Taehyun…don't shut us out. That's all I ask of you. We're worried, Seungyoon and I. You're not acting like yourself."

His smile slips off his face and he swallows hard, he turns to Seungyoon who gives an agreeing nod. Looking down again, Taehyun fumbles with his hands, a bit embarrassed. He thought he was doing a good job but it seems his friends picked up on it his behavior rather easily. He feels a little guilty for causing them to worry and they were right, he shouldn't shut them out, but he didn't know why it was so hard for him to move on. It felt like something was pulled away from him harshly, like he was missing a part of himself. He looks up to see Jinwoo still looking at him.

"I know, but don't worry. I won't. I just...I need some more time."

Although Jinwoo looks like he wants to ask exactly what Taehyun needs time for, he quietly accepts his friend's request.

They continue the rest of their lunch with idle chat till Seungyoon speaks up again. "By the way, did you ever find out what those dreams meant?"

That catches Taehyun by surprise, he almost forgot he had told his friends about his dreams. Since their last talk, Taehyun had spent all night researching and reading through various articles detailing about the kind of dreams he's been experiencing. What he found was interesting to say the least.

Seungyoon clears his throat to get his attention, stopping him from letting his mind wander. Taehyun looks back and he sees Jinwoo also curious for his response, he leans more forward. “Yeah I did.”

Taehyun figures if he’s going to act normal again, he should start by opening up to them about a few things.

………….

When Taehyun does start to dream again, it's not his place or anywhere else he’s familiar with. Instead he finds himself dreaming of another city but he can't find the name anywhere, and he gives up trying. And although it is a dream, there seems to be nothing more than the unknown city in it. No impressions, no fate laced dreams of another reality, all Taehyun has is the memory of Minho's face with a big, dumb, beautiful grin on it.

As time goes on, Taehyun finds a girlfriend or two but refuses to take interest in any other guy, he figures this will be easier. The only problem is that he doesn't love them…he might only tolerate or like them but never enough to fully love them. All of it combined doesn't compare to what he had with Minho, and he knows that it would sound crazy to anyone else besides Jinwoo and Seungyoon, so he continues to keep quiet and let their relationships run their course. It's just…normal for him.

Before he knows it, Taehyun finds most of his time busy studying for acceptance into the university he wants to attend. When he does graduate, it’s with honors and scholarships to the university he wants. Soon he’s packing up and moves away from home, enduring a tearful goodbye from his mother and grandmother, while his little brother hugs him and wishes the best for him before he drives away in the car he worked hard to get.

The memory of Minho slowly fades away as he strives to make his other dreams a reality.

___________

After Taehyun’s disappearance (if that’s what you could call it), Minho utilizes a lot of his time on the internet, trying to look up ways to help understand about his dreams. It opens the doors to some answers Minho always questioned about and then, just as soon as he stops dreaming, he starts again. However, it’s not the kind of dreams he likes or wants. In all his dreams, things are distorted to a certain degree and the chime of the bell sounds miles away.

As he’s wandering around his dream, Minho thinks he sees Taehyun across a monstrous waterfall but as he tries to get close his body involuntarily walks away from Taehyun’s pleading voice. This happens a couple of times throughout his dreams until he suddenly can no longer hear the bell at all and the dream is filled with silence. Ignoring the protest in his body, Minho turns around only to watch Taehyun’s form start to vanish. "Taehyun!"

Minho screams and he's upright in his bed drenched in sweat, eyes snapping open on the strangled sound of his breath. He lurches forward and grasps the edge of the bed and stares into the darkness of his room. His fingers are shaking as he grips at the covers tightly, he couldn't seem to still them.

“Minho, what’s going on in here?" his dad storms into his room with a robe on, his mom only two steps behind clearly worried. He can’t seem to hear his dad as he mumbles Taehyun’s name over and over to himself.

It’s only when he feels the soft pad of his mom fingers running through his sweat-drenched locks that he remembers who he is and where he is. Minho looks up to see his parents worriedly looking at him.

“I...” he struggles to speak, mouth feeling dry.

His mom takes the initiative by bringing his attention back to her. "Minho, who is Taehyun?"

“A f-friend.” He stutters out, watching as his parents seem to relax a little at that.

“Did something happen to him?” His dad asks him softly. Minho tries to speak again but his throat constricts on him, he can only manage to shake his head. He has no idea if something has happened to him or not and it’s driving him crazy.

"Talk to us Minho," he knows what his dad's asking him…he's asking why they never heard of Taehyun, so Minho tells them in a way they might understand. He says that he knew Taehyun when they were kids, but when he moved away they kept in touch through their phones.

“That doesn’t explain why you were screaming his name just now. Did something happen?” His dad repeats again, a little firmer.

Minho shakes his head. "No...we just lost contact recently. I...”

He feels his mom place her hand on his forehead and click her tongue. “He’s running a slight fever, I think it’s best he takes some medicine and we let him rest.” His dad looks like he wants to protest but one look from his mom and he resigns with a tired sigh, leaving the room with one last glance at Minho.

When his dad is out of earshot, Minho faces his mom and clears his throat a little before speaking to her. “I’m not sic—“

“Minho,” his mom interrupts him, giving him a knowing look that makes his cheeks flush despite himself. “Whatever is going on between you two, don’t worry about it too much. I’m sure it’ll work out. And you know your father and I are here for you if you ever want to talk.”

Minho silently disagrees but he’s still thankful to her for saving him from explaining more about Taehyun to his dad. “Yeah…I know, thanks.”

“Get some rest now,” his mom presses a kiss to his forehead and Minho mindlessly agrees, suddenly feeling exhausted but not because of tiredness. He wishes he understood things sooner, maybe then he’d still have Taehyun with him.

………….

After that things proceed normally, even though he keeps quiet about Taehyun, Minho knows he's real too, and that Taehyun is out there somewhere but with only his first name, Minho doesn't know how to begin finding him.

His dad starts talking to him about what he should do after he graduates. The familiar question makes Minho remember when Taehyun had asked him the same thing and it’s the first time Minho stops to think about a future for himself. A part of Minho knows his dad wants him to stay and take up the fishing life like his old man, and he probably would have if he didn’t consider his options.

Although his percentages are never quite as high in school, Minho does his best and manages to graduate and get accepted to a university in a city a couple of hours away from home. Despite the distance, his parents are both proud of him nonetheless. The one thing he doesn’t mention to them is he vaguely remembers seeing the name of the city in a dream once and knows that when he dreams it's at least a little bit real, the city itself proving that.

With school done and the rest of the summer to prepare for his big move, his best friends Jihoon and Jiho are persistent they spend their last summer consistently going out, Minho doesn’t protest and enjoys himself. He even tries dating a couple of times throughout the summer but aside from the few flings, none of them are ever serious or last more than a week, it’s not really a big deal to him though.

When the end of summer approaches, Minho packs everything up and prepares to head out into a new city. He’s a bit nervous about leaving his parents but they assure him they’ll be fine and for him to go out and live his life. It’s with their encouragement that Minho is finally able to takes his first step out into the world.

He moves into the dorms and attends general classes at first, but after a couple of months does Minho truly find his calling.

………….

While it was raining, he slipped and ended up ripping his jeans pretty badly. Figuring he can fix it himself, Minho goes to buy a sowing machine and a few other cloths and threads to add something new to it. It turns out to be a complete disaster and he ruins the jeans beyond repair but despite the terrible turnout, he enjoyed himself the whole time and spends the rest of the week looking up ways to properly sow and knit.

Come the following semester, Minho is a lot better than when he first started out and starts attending classes pertaining to designing clothes instead. He was already a good artist to begin with, so sketching designs fell into step with him rather easily but it was learning more about patterns, color theory, and different materials to use when designing clothes that he completely immerses himself into the work.

However, it’s during a project where they have a model display their clothing that he meets Seunghoon and his life takes an unexpected turn.

A year older than himself, Seunghoon is majoring in dancing but he’s also a part time model and a good looking one at that. Seunghoon, Minho finds out, turns out to be exactly the type of person he gets along with and even advises Minho to learn more about the business side of fashion designing and how to market for future references. Even after the project ends (with Minho placing second), they continue to hit it off well. Becoming friends with Seunghoon feels like a natural thing to do, and as their friendship grows so does their feelings.

Seunghoon is a lot of fun to hang out with, he teaches Minho things he hadn’t known about and there was even a time where they both dyed their hair for the hell of it. Of course, Minho went with blonde as his first choice (the thought reminding him of Taehyun) but Seunghoon convinces Minho to explore other colors and the night ends with their lips and bodies pressed together.

Dating Seunghoon becomes a whole new experience for Minho, because aside from what he had with Taehyun, all his other relationships never lasted long enough for him to develop anything other than physical attraction, but with Seunghoon it just comes as naturally as their friendship. However, it wasn’t the kind of relationship where Minho found himself falling deeply, and on some scale, he’s sure Seunghoon felt the same way, but they still indulged themselves.

Soon a year passes and they live together but are no longer together as a couple. Their relationship, while good and endearing, felt a little like it lacked depth. As if they were too similar at times. Maybe they were just made to be more than friends, but not anything deeper. Minho guesses Seunghoon must have felt the same since their break up didn't seem like much of a big hassle for him to get over.

And despite their split their friendship remained strongly intact, with Seunghoon even managing to get Minho an internship at a famous designing house. If he works his skills he may have a potential career lined up for him there and eventually start working on creating and putting out his own work!

It’s only when he stops for a moment to appreciate how far he’s gotten in life that Minho realizes his mind has gone silent of Taehyun for nearly two years now, and maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe Taehyun was always meant to be this ideal form of what Minho wanted and nothing else. A _dream_.

No matter how much that thought seems to pain Minho, he knows it’s best to just move on as well, even it feels like a part of him is missing.

………….

Of course, fate always finds a way to intervene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so fashion designer Mino! Anyone else liking that? I got a little inspired after seeing his style map videos and also Hoon and him at F/W lol. 
> 
> We are slowly approaching the end of the story and I just want to mention that there will be some bonus chapters later on once this story is complete that will show a little more of the in between moments that I time skipped over. I just found it hard (at the time) to include them into the main storyline so if I feel like I can add them onto previous chapters later I'll let you know, till then enjoy!


	8. The Night We Met

Of all the things he’s dreamed of while sleeping, dreaming about the city he’s currently living in isn’t the strangest or weirdest. In fact, it’s hardly unusual at all given that he’s dreamed of this place long before he ever moved here. If anything, it’s only a little eerily that there seems to be no one else but himself, but then again, he’s come to accept his dreams as they are. The less questioning, the better the dream is he supposes. 

Taehyun follows the familiar path he walks every day and makes his way over to a bench that’s located in a park not too far from where he lives. He often visits this exact spot every so often after he’s done walking around at night and smokes a cigarette or two as a way to let out some stress. Usually he’d just watch people pass by until he feels good enough to head back home, but with the absence of people around the park is a lot more spacious and Taehyun takes in the solitude that comes with it peacefully. It’s been some time since he’s truly been left on his own, his life was getting more hectic lately and as much as he was enjoying it, he wished it would slow down a bit. At least here it can. 

He lays down on the bench with his arms crossed under his head with a smile as he stares up at the sky, enjoying the night scenery to his fullest. Normally he wouldn’t be able to see stars in a city like the one he’s living in, but in his dream, he practically has a whole constellation of stars to gaze at. And because Taehyun has gotten the hang of controlling his dreams to an extent, he changes the color of the sky to shift from various tones every few seconds. Even making some of the stars lower closer to him and float around like bubbles till they come into contact with something and pop in little sparkles. 

Just as Taehyun is about to close his eyes and possibly imagine something else, he watches a shooting star fly across. The glittering tail of it trailing behind and he tries to think of a wish to make for the fun of it. However, a gleaming light catches his attention and he squints at the sudden brightness. Sitting up properly, Taehyun raises a hand up to cover his eyes as the light seems to be getting closer to him. No sooner had the brightness come, it is quickly gone and replaced with a figure near the entrance of the park. 

Despite the distance, Taehyun can clearly see them and he feels his heart skip a beat as he sees who it is. It couldn’t be...after all these years it couldn’t be who he thinks he is. The name slips out before he can stop himself, sounding both familiar and strange on his tongue.

"M-Minho..." 

__________

The first thought that comes to Minho during his dream is that he knows this park, he walks past it every day to get to work and stops occasionally to appreciate the wide and spacious area. Coming from someone who grew up near the beach, bright sunny sceneries were always what he was accustomed to seeing so it was a nice change to take in more of the darker shades and earthy tones that surrounded him. 

It’s not that very often, but he does from time to time dream about the city he’s living in. Most of the time it’s related to work in some form or another so he doesn’t put much thought into it as he makes his way to the entrance. 

As he enters, Minho notices another person sitting on a bench nearby and almost ignores it, but then he hears the telltale chime of a bell. Just once. But it's enough to make his heart rate go up. Four years, it’s been four years since he last heard that sound but it still manages to knock some sense into him. 

“Taehyun,” Minho breathes out the name the same way he breathes in the sight in front of him. Even with the distance there is no way Minho wouldn’t recognize those droopy eyebrows. 

Without much else thought he starts running and keeps running, and running and running towards the other. He’s not letting go, not this time, not anymore.

☾

With the sound of their names being uttered from each other’s lips, it’s as if some unknown boundary has been lifted and their two beings collide once again. They both are now sprinting towards each other with desperation and hope. And it feels so right, makes so much sense, like they’re both finally complete as they meet each other. Bodies pressing together as hands come up to cling to each other, not wanting to let go. The same thought runs through their minds. _I missed you._ It’s not said aloud but hangs in the air around them. 

Taehyun is the first one to break the silence. "I thought I've never see you again." He chokes out, barely keeping his tears from falling. Minho is here, Taehyun can  _feel_  him. He knows this is real because he doesn’t want to face the reality if Minho isn’t, not again.  

Minho tightens his hold on Taehyun when he hears the other let out a sob. Instinctively he knows what he needs to say because he’s not going to let this opportunity after nearly four years slip away from him, not again. “I want to meet you. Outside of our dreams.” He pleads, cupping Taehyun’s face and seeing the same feelings reflected in his eyes. 

Minho’s words seem to erase any doubts Taehyun has and he wants to tell Minho he’s sorry for ever doubting his existence or any of their dreams but before he can get anything out the dream ends. 

☾

Both lay breathlessly in their own individual beds, too awake to fall back to sleep and minds wandering back to all the previous dreams they’ve shared together. A sense of disappointment lingers within them but it’s also replaced with elation at seeing each other again and longing. Besides still trying to make sense of what just happened, there was one thing both were sure of, they recognized that park.  

………….

The rest of the day seems to drag on too long for either of them. Minho is distracted with thoughts of Taehyun at work all day and Taehyun wishes the day would end sooner so he could hopefully see Minho again tonight. 

Getting cut off right when he was going to explain everything to Minho left him feeling anxious throughout the day. He remembers the constant longing he felt those few weeks after he was unable to see Minho in his dreams and realizes just how lonely he’s been since. He was surrounded by people, yes. But he felt alone most of the time, and miserable and empty. That was it. He’s been running on empty the past few years. And seeing Minho again, even if it was just a moment, reopened all the past feelings he thought he’d buried away. It steels his will even more because this time he won’t run away, he won’t let himself be filled up with doubt. 

Meanwhile Minho has never felt more determined than ever to find the other. Taehyun had finally come back to him…his dreams…no, Taehyun had finally turned up again. He wasn’t going to let this chance go. Although life has been good to him up till now, there were days when it was obnoxiously sunny or where he felt like he had to put up a bright front for others, but there were also times where it was warm and fuzzy and pretty and Minho wished he had someone to be enthusiastic about things with. Seunghoon was good company but not the kind he wanted to share the rest of his life together with. He knows deep down that it has to be Taehyun and no one else. 

When the day finally comes to an end Minho can’t sit still. He’s ready to bolt out of the place but keeps his composure all the way till he’s out of the building. It’s already dark out because he forgot he had to look over a couple of designs and make sure the references for the materials they were planning to use were correct and it ended up taking longer than he expected. A little frustrated, Minho runs a hand through his newly dyed ashy blonde hair and quickly hurries to where he parked his car. 

Minho passes by a few places and is about to reach his car when he hears a chime of a bell he’s so familiar with. His heart stops and he pleads in his mind that if he turns around right now that the person he will see is the same man he’s been waiting for all his life and not just the sound of a bell hanging from a shop door.

Bracing himself, Minho turns around hoping that he sees those droopy eyebrows or cat-like eyes... Minho’s bag slips from his shoulder and thuds against the ground, heavy with design sketches and fabrics as his eyes meet the ones staring back at his. It can’t be...

………….

Taehyun steps outside the noisy club he works at to have a smoke. He isn’t working tonight nor does he have a gig scheduled with his band but he still didn’t want to turn down the offer to come out for a night to enjoy himself with them. It was still too early to leave but he thinks he can get off easy by saying he has a thing to do in the morning. 

He’s surrounded by a bunch of other people who are loud and laughing as they go to and from the club entrance so he wanders a little more to the side where he will be less bothered. Just as he’s about to light his cigarette he feels someone’s gaze on him and lifts his head to see a blondish man turn around and their eyes meet…it's Minho, it's impossible, but true. Taehyun’s cigarette falls from his lips as his eyes widen. He's dark as when they first met, his flesh is honey and his hair is now between a silvery grey and blonde like the sun. Minho is still as beautiful as he was then and Taehyun feels so breathless.

"Taehyun you dropped your cigarette," He hears someone say, nudging him with his elbow but he ignores them. Taehyun walks forward, brows furrowing together and causing them to appear droopier than they already are. He stops and hesitates, heart pounding wildly in his chest. Taehyun wants to cry, even here in the middle of the busy night crowd…because he sees for the first time the only person he's ever wanted in his entire life, the one he knows he belongs to. 

Minho rushes forward and closes the remaining distance between them, and instead of weeping like he feels, he places his hands at the base of Taehyun's neck and draws him into a kiss. It's so real, and so much more than he had ever dreamed. His lips are soft and so hot that the warmth spreads through his body, the roar of the club nearby doesn't waver but Minho's world stops anyway, capturing the feeling of Taehyun's lips responding to his equally as desperately…rejoicing in the fact that Taehyun isn't disappearing in his grasp. He's here, he's Minho's and he refuses to let go.

He pulls back once his lips are bruised and the comments from anybody nearby don't matter to him, no matter how loud or flippant. It's Taehyun's words that are deafening, "You're real…"

Minho's brow furrows and he nods, "I'm real," he murmurs, his thumb gently caressing the other man's neck and he coaxes Taehyun away from the front of the club because Taehyun is his…and even though he has the rest of his life to find out every detail he can about him, Minho doesn't want to waste a second.

………….

Taehyun only has a second to remind Minho of his fallen bag, which the other scoops up hastily, before he’s being be pulled by Minho. His eyes are wide as the tan hand around his grips him even tighter. He’s utterly speechless as Minho walks at a brisk pace in front of him, urging him till they were in the exact park they dreamed of the other night, the only difference now is they are in a smaller secluded area of it. 

The moment they stop Minho drags him back into another kiss, his warm hands are planted firmly on either side of his face and Taehyun is almost too dazed to breathe as the warmth spreads through his skin in a way it never had while he dreamed. He can actually feel Minho, the warmth of his hand, the calloused skin of his fingertips, and Minho somehow remained through it all. He wasn’t going to open his eyes and stare up at his bedroom ceiling like all the other times. 

"Min—" the other man's lips were on his again. Had he always been this tall? No…no they were the same height, and no matter how much he may or may not have been leaning up into the kiss could convince him that, Taehyun knew that wasn't the truth. "—ho…" He sucks in a deep breath as he looks up at the other man whose face has always been so easy for him to read.

“I’m sorry, I just like knowing that you aren't going to disappear…I can stop if you want," Minho admits out loud and Taehyun shakes his head, holding Minho’s hand tighter in his. 

"Yeah…" he whispers. "No, I'm here…" He promises quietly, understanding that sentiment. The last time he saw Minho, he had kissed him, said he wished he was real, then never saw him again. It’s not something easy to forget.

"I've missed you…" Minho breathes out. Taehyun tilts his head and Minho leans in until their foreheads are touching. "My name is Song Minho…" he says softly.

Taehyun feels the warmth spread through him and he swipes his tongue along his lips. He feels guilty for not realizing how real Minho was all those years back…he unintentionally played with Minho’s feelings and then abandoned him because he believed he was alone. He realizes a moment after what Minho is saying to him. Minho had asked him dozens of time what his full name was and Taehyun had never given it. "Nam Taehyun…" He replies, feeling rather shy, but there’s a grin that spreads across his face that he can’t fight, "it's good to meet you…"

“Finally, I know.” Minho chuckles and any uneasiness Taehyun felt moments ago dissipates at the sound of the other's laugh.

 "What…what are you doing here?" He asks. Taehyun feels so overwhelmed yet the complete opposite at the same time. When he was younger he had always figured Minho was…imagined, but here Minho is trying to eat his lips. It’s different from what he was expecting but then again Minho has always been shameless. 

"I could ask you the same question," Minho replies and Taehyun bites the inside of his lip hard just as Minho’s arms slip around his back and his chin rests on his shoulder. This is something he would have imagined from the other man and a searing heat flares up his neck. "I moved here after I graduated, dreamt about it once or twice.” Minho says, his tongue running along his dry lips.

Taehyun’s eyes widen at the similarity. "I…I also dreamt of this place until I graduated. I didn't know, I just thought…I thought it felt right y’know to go to school here," His voice is quiet and his arms gently slip around Minho as well, allowing himself this moment because his voice sounds shaky. He can feel Minho’s grip on the back of his jacket tighten and bites his lip, still managing to smile all the same. 

Minho takes a step back to look at Taehyun, he had aged well. He stood roughly…maybe a few inches or so shorter than him, and his hairstyle hadn't changed. It still was parted in the center, though a bit longer and browner, but it complimented him well. His face no longer held as much baby fat as Minho remembered, it was now more sharper and while his body was still on the slim side, it had filled out from the lanky teen Minho once knew. It’s only when he realizes Taehyun is speaking to him does Minho stop his staring. “What?” 

"Uh…I said am I keeping you from work or anything? You looked like you were headed somewhere," Taehyun repeats, he feels a little warmer from having Minho’s intense gaze on him and it was getting a little harder to breathe the longer he looked at the other. 

Minho had grown from the cute chubby kid he had known as a kid. Sure, when they were teenagers Minho began to lose weight but Taehyun was so used to seeing the guy who wore baggy clothing and whose face was a lot more rounder with his shaggy hair either covered with a cap or beanie. Instead the man in front of him looked so much different, Minho’s hair was shorter, styled, and  _colored_. His round face was gone and his body looked more fitted, especially his shoulders and thighs... The one thing that remained was his beautifully tanned skin and blinding smile. 

“Oh no, I just got out of work a while ago. I was heading to my car actually...have you eaten yet? I know this place we can go to if you want?” 

Taehyun shakes his head and smiles at him. “I'm all yours I guess," he wants to slap himself after hearing how that might have sounded.

Minho doesn’t seem to notice Taehyun's embarrassment as he let’s go of him. “My car's this way," Minho says and Taehyun blinks when he feels Minho’s hand slip around his and tug him off toward where he parked his car.

"You know, I'm not going to get lost if you don't hold my hand," Taehyun jokes.

Minho stops walking and looks back at Taehyun with a sigh. "Taehyun…I need to know I'm not dreaming, all of this feels so crazy but if it's a big deal I can stop," He admits, loosening his grip of their hands. 

Taehyun looks at Minho and he feels that small pang of guilt well up inside of him again. He hadn't meant to throw Minho aside, had he known that the man was real, he never would have let go. "No…it's fine," he says softly, squeezing Minho's hand reassuringly. 

It doesn’t take long once they get into Minho’s car till they are finally at the restaurant Minho had spoken of. When Taehyun looks up at the sign he lets out a laugh and shakes his head before he heads for the door. "Cheap bastard," he says with a grin, but he still feels overwhelmingly happy. Minho is about to retort when another voice speaks up. 

"Minho, back so soon? Your booth is open," the old man says when they enter and Minho offers a grin before he looks over his shoulder to Taehyun as he heads back toward the booth.

"You come here often then," Taehyun stated, mildly amused.

"Of course, this is my favorite place in town."

"You know, when people have favorite places, they aren't typically restaurants."

"That can't be even remotely true," Minho says as he slumps down in his seat and he moves to take off denim jacket and put it beside before he finally allows himself to look at Taehyun again. 

Taehyun bites his lip and he rests his chin on his hand, "So…did you live close by here?" He murmurs.

Minho shakes his head, "This is my first time actually living in a city, before this I lived in a town by the sea. It’s a good couple of hours away from here." He says as he hands the card of menu choices on the table to Taehyun.

A spark seems to flicker through Taehyun’s eyes and he smiles. "Ah! So that’s where the beach scenery in the dreams came from." 

"Yeah, guess I liked it there too much to think of another place." Minho admits sheepishly. 

Taehyun wants to ask Minho more questions to see how much of Minho he already knows but was given another moment when someone came over to take their order. 

"The usual please. You're looking even more beautiful today, I don't know how it's possible," Minho says with a grin which only widens when he sees the smile spread across the woman's face.

“Stop it Minho, I can't be giving you anymore free meals," She said with a smile.

"That's not why I said it," He pouts. "I promise I'm only telling the truth," he adds.

"Hm…" Minho blinks and looks back to Taehyun before he rubs the back of his neck again with a laugh, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

"Besides, I’m treating my...boyfriend today, so don't worry. I'm not here to eat you guys out of business."

"We live to see another day," She says with a smile before turning to Taehyun who is too busy staring at Minho to even look at her when he orders.

Minho watches as the waitress heads over to her next table and he let out a breath. He has no idea why he just called Taehyun his boyfriend but he can already feel the other staring him down. He takes one look at Taehyun and feels nervous.

Taehyun meets his gaze over the rim of the glass he's drinking from. Clearing his throat, he sets it down and leans back, he looks relaxed, Minho thinks that's a good sign. “You just said I’m your boyfriend,” he says softly. 

Minho looks down to the drink in front of him and he sucks in a deep breath. “I...well, yeah.” He stumbles over his words. 

Taehyun leans forward with a thoughtful smile, one brow arched. “What if I have a problem with that?”

“Do you?” Minho lets out a nervous laugh, maybe he shouldn’t have said that.

“Nah,” he answers with a shrug and Minho visibly relaxes once again. 

He smiles as his finger moves around the rim of his own glass, remembering the previous discussion they had before getting interrupted. “So, you also moved here, how far away did you live?”

"Pretty close by. Maybe an hour or two drive, give or take the traffic." 

Minho leans against the table and thinks for a short while. "Was it close to a forest?" 

Taehyun grins back at him. "Guess that makes the two of us then." He then takes a sip of water before asking Minho a question. “So, living by the beach, that must have been something?”

"Yup, all those evening walks and everythi—" Minho’s head picks up and he looks over Taehyun when he sees the waitress coming their way with two bowls. "You are a life saver! We should get married okay?" Minho says with a grin.

"I don't think my boyfriend would appreciate that," She says with a giggle as she places their food down.

Taehyun snorts, "I don't think his boyfriend would appreciate it either," He grounds out and Minho chokes on his own spit.

The waitress gives him a concern look but he waves it out with a cough. “Don’t mind him, he’s just cranky he hasn’t eaten.” 

Taehyun turns to look at the waitress and gives her his best charming smile. “Can I order another dish as well? Since my  _boyfriend_  is paying for it all.” 

“Hey now,” Minho says as he tries to get Taehyun’s attention but the other ignores him as he promptly begins to eat the delightful dish. 

The woman covers her mouth with her hand to hide a small smile. "I promise, he's yours," she says to Taehyun before she heads back off to work. 

Minho can’t keep the chuckle from slipping out and Taehyun raises his head to look at him. “Jealous much?” He says as he finishes a large mouthful, doing a perfect job of ignoring the bewildered look on Taehyun’s face.

“No,” he says as he sits back with a sigh, despite the nice atmosphere they have going on, Taehyun still needs to get something off his chest before they can progress anywhere. “Minho, I know it’s mostly my fault that we stopped dreaming…" he says quietly, his thoughts going back on the nights of tossing back his sleeping pills and falling into an often fitful sleep in order to help get over everything that happened. Maybe because the reality of it was too much to handle at the time, he was too young to really grasp the situation unlike now. "You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Minho...and I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way for not believing in you." He voices out softer.

There isn’t really anybody in the restaurant, Minho imagines this is probably the only reason Taehyun is saying this now. He tips his head as he thinks to himself quietly back to the state of mind he had been in at the time when Taehyun disappeared. There had been a lot of confusion and a lot of longing that he hadn't known how to deal with. He sighs and looks at him, “I don’t think you’re the only one at fault here, Taehyun. We were kids when we first started sharing dreams, how could we know what it was—“ 

“Lucid dreaming.” Taehyun cuts in.

“Huh?” 

“It’s called lucid dreaming, or at least the part of how we are able to control our dreams and how we are aware we’re dreaming. That’s the conclusion I came up with after searching it up for some time.” 

“Well that makes a lot more sense...” Minho muses. He then goes back to what he was saying earlier. “Like I said, you’re not to blame for all this and you don’t need to apologize or feeling like you have to.”

“But you believed in me, believed in  _us_. I...I didn’t.” Taehyun protests. His life had always been so separate from Minho. He had given nearly nothing away because he had never seen a need to, not when he believed Minho was a figment in his world. 

“No, you did. I just think you were lost in trying to convince yourself on what was real and what wasn’t. It’s not something easy to comprehend when you try to put logic into your dreams.” Minho shrugs. “And you know, maybe I needed a reality check myself. I got to be normal for a change, it wasn’t the same or easy but it was nice.” 

"Normal, hm?" Taehyun looks down to his dish and starts to push his food around. “I’m happy you were able to,” he says quietly. 

Minho bites the inside of his cheek before grinning. “Normal or not, none of it compares to you. Taehyun, you made me see colors I didn’t know existed. I want you. I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was… Not love at first sight exactly, but — familiarity. Like oh, hello, it’s you. It’s going to be you. You’re the most amazing thing I ever experienced, and I don’t want that to end.”

Taehyun’s eyes widened as he listens to Minho’s confession. And for some reason he can’t stop the way his eyes tear up even as he sits here in an almost empty restaurant with Minho. His words were the exact same thing Taehyun had felt as well. It wasn’t love at first sight, but as they spent more time together he grew to love Minho and one day he just looked at him and suddenly realized he was seeing him in a different light than he did before, one filled with love.

“Y’know...you have the worse timing in confessing to someone,” Taehyun starts, dabbing at the corners of his eyes. He hears Minho laugh and meets his gaze warmly. “Even after all these years you still have no shame, but I think that’s one reason why I can’t let you go. I don’t need to say I’ve fallen in love with you because I’ve already fallen into the depths of who you are. You’re everything to me.”

“Does that mean you'll agree to date me then?" He rolls his eyes and Minho uses that chance to capture his lips in a sweet kiss. Taehyun’s eyes slowly open when Minho’s peachy lips pull away from the tender kiss and he knows without asking what Taehyun’s answer is. 

They are quiet for a moment before they fall into idle chatter, allowing themselves to test their new-found relationship. 

“So, tell me what you do? Are you going to school around here?” Minho asks once he gets served a new bowl. 

“I’m on my last year in university but besides school I work at a bar nearby and started my own band a couple of months ago.” Taehyun replies, finally digging into his own meal. 

“How’s that going?”

“We’ve been doing pretty good, bars and other clubs let us play and we even go busking around the city. It’s a good way to build up a foundation with fans, I guess. I don’t mind working my way to the top, or even if I never get to it, I just like doing what I love freely and without any regrets.” He says and rubs the back of his neck shyly, no matter what he just wanted to enjoy himself. 

“Music...I’m glad you stuck with it.” Minho says with a big smile. “It suits you.” 

“What about you?” Taehyun asks as he slurps up his noodles. 

“I actually work at a designing firm for clothes and fabrics, it’s been about a year and a half since I got the job after interning the previous year but it’s been going well.”

Taehyun looks thoughtfully at him. “Of all things I never pegged you as a fashion designer.” 

“Is that a bad thing?” Minho laughs, knowing Taehyun is probably recalling all his past outfits. 

He shakes his head as he smiles up at Minho. “No, it’s good. I like how confident you seem in yourself.” 

………….

They finish the rest of their meal with two more bowls and after Minho finishes paying and telling the owner he’ll be back soon they step outside into the chilly air.

Minho takes out his phone and sees he has a couple of messages, most from Seunghoon, but it’s the time that really catches his attention. “Wow it’s almost 1...I should take you home.”

“Alright, I don’t live that far from here I think.” Taehyun says with a grin. 

The ride back to Taehyun’s place was relatively quiet with Taehyun commenting on the music playing from his radio and Minho asking Taehyun about his place. He used to be roommates with his friends Jinwoo and Seungyoon but they finally got their own apartment last year and now Taehyun had the whole place to himself. 

Minho told Taehyun about his roommate/former ex Seunghoon and Taehyun didn’t seem bothered by it as Minho told him they were more friends than an actual couple throughout their relationship. Though he did look out the window for some time before admitting to Minho that only recently had he came out to his family, having decided to be open about himself and had tried dating a guy but it being relatively new to him, the experience hadn’t ended well. 

Minho didn’t have much to say on that but Taehyun did hear the distinct squeak of Minho’s hands gripping the steering wheel rather tightly during his little story and figures mentioning past relationships is something they should avoid for a while.

“My building is right there, the one with the porch swing on the first floor," he hums.

“Alright," Minho slowly pulls up to the curb and they both step out of the car. Taehyun wants to question if Minho is actually going to walk him to his door when he remembers something. 

"Minho,” Taehyun says as he looks over his shoulder. “Before I forget," he digs his phone out of his pocket and unlocks the screen. "Give me your number.” He holds out his hand and Minho hands over his phone as Taehyun begins to input his number before he sends a text to himself, or at least Minho figures when he hears a buzz from Taehyun’s phone.

Minho takes in Taehyun’s apartment building from the outside, noting how it looks a lot more welcoming with all the greenery surrounding the place. 

“Well this is m—“ 

"Do you want to go on a date?" Minho blurts out before he can stop himself.

Taehyun turns to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you think we're a little over the whole date thing? Our first time ever meeting and you do so by sticking your tongue in my mouth and then confessing to me in a restaurant? Mhm, Song Minho, you romantic, I can’t wait to tell all our friends and family how it happened." 

Minho wants to rebuff that claim but he’s sure his face is too red right now to even try to make an excuse and he can’t stop the way his heart flutters at Taehyun’s words, the promise of a future together has never felt more right and reassuring even if it’s laced in Taehyun’s sarcasm. 

Taehyun grins back as he watches Minho try to compose himself, holding back a laugh he grabs the collar of Minho’s jacket and pulls him close until their lips are pressed together. The kiss is tender and lasts a few short moments before Taehyun pulls back, "I would love to, you idiot." He then walks up the stairs to his apartment floor, waving over his shoulder.

Minho walks dazedly back to his car and stays slumped in his seat with his forehead against the steering wheel. He takes a few long moments before he sits up and drives back home.

As Minho arrives to his place he’s thankful Seunghoon is out of town for a modeling gig and he can be left alone.

_Nam Taehyun..._

Minho repeats the name in his head and feels his heart beat faster. He smiles and he feels breathless all over again as he falls asleep with the thought that he had found him.

………….

 _Song Minho_. 

Taehyun bites his lip to stop from smiling too much, but he can’t deny how right it feels to finally have Minho with him. He finally found the person who had kept him sane growing up.

He falls asleep shortly after, still in disbelief at all that had taken place that night but also so grateful.

………….

There were a lot of things that they had yet to face, but when they finally dream again, it's in a world at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter could have came out a lot sooner but I kept redoing the first half of it TT I also had exams throughout the week so I'm burnt out. I also want to mention this now but I never gave the places where Taehyun and Mino live names or an exact location mostly because I don't know SK that well and even though specifics aren't always necessary I'm just that kind of person who either has to have them or don't, so just imagine it as you like. Lastly this is not the end, but we are very close and I do hope this chapter helped clear up some questions you may have had as well, till then!


	9. Light Me Up

Minho sits up in bed the next morning a little groggy. Reaching over for his phone, he unlocks it and begins to scroll through everything he received. There were a couple of emails and unread messages from work and a few from friends but what catches his eye is a ‘good morning’ text from Taehyun that nearly causes him to drop his phone to the ground.  _So last night really happened..._ Minho hastily collects himself and replies to Taehyun. 

**M: morning! Did you sleep well?**

**T: did I wake you?**

**T: And yes, I did.**

**M: no, worries I’m up. Want to meet up later for lunch?**

**M: If you’re not busy that is...**

**T: love to! How about at the park? Say around 11:30?**

**M: Great, see you there!**

Minho hesitates before adding a heart to the end of the text. Relief returns to him seconds later when Taehyun replies with ‘you too’ and a heart as well. It’s dumb, he knows, but Minho can’t stop himself from smiling and burying his face back into his pillow. 

Once he’s calmed himself down, he gets out of bed to head to the bathroom across the hall, passing by the living room but stops when he sees Seunghoon passed out on the couch with his luggage still by the front door. His eyebrows scrunch up together confusedly remembering his friend saying he was going to return Monday morning, it’s only Saturday.

Shaking his head at his friend’s unexpected appearance, Minho continues his way to the bathroom and quickly splashes some water onto his face. He looks at the large mirror and notices there is a smile on his face and can only assume it’s due to getting to see Taehyun later today. He reaches over for a small towel to dry his face and rub the sleep away from his eyes before continuing with the rest of his morning routine.

After cleaning himself up, he exists the bathroom and ends up stubbing his toe against the couch. “Fuck...” he mutters lowly. Trying to keep quiet for Seunghoon’s sake and ignoring the pain coming from his toe.

“I think it’s a little too early to be asking for that Minho,” Seunghoon’s sleepy voice says, “or maybe not.” He adds with a playful wink, blonde hair messily bunched up from where he slept.

Minho rolls his eyes and looks to where his friend is still curled up on the couch comfortably with a blanket. “Didn’t think you’d be back so early,” he comments, leaning against the couch. 

“Neither did I but finished the gig early and decided to just come back home instead of staying there. I sent you a couple of messages saying I was coming back but I think you just read them." Seunghoon glares at Minho momentarily. "Also, I want to go pick up Haute, I miss my boy!” He says as he stretches then looks back to Minho. “Were you hoping to have the place to yourself?” 

He shrugs at suggestiveness of Seunghoon’s tone and the two stare at each other for a long moment till Minho feels uncomfortable and looks away. "What?"

Seunghoon shakes his head, looking more serious now. "Nothing. Just the way you were staring, it looked like you wanted to say something. You know, I'm a good listener if you want to talk.”

“I know, but maybe later. Got to get ready.” Minho moves to leave but Seunghoon speaks up again. 

“This early on a Saturday?” Seunghoon tilts his head to the side curiously, staring Minho down before straightening back up and snapping his fingers. “Ah! Could it be that you’re going on a date?” 

“What makes you think I'm going on a date?” Minho questions, but he can’t stop the way his face flushes a little and knows he’s been caught when Seunghoon smiles knowingly. 

“You’re saying you have to get ready when it’s,” he glances at the time on his phone. “9:40 in the morning? On a Saturday? There has to be a reason other than food.” Minho scoffs at that but Seunghoon leans closer to him and continues, “So, what’s her name?” 

Minho gives Seunghoon an annoyed look and pushes him away. “Why do you always say that? You know I don’t like girls  _that_  way.” 

“I know but it’s fun to see your reaction every time.” Seunghoon chuckles as he leans back on the couch. “Tell me your boyfriend’s name?” He tries again.

“He’s not my...well....” Minho rubs the back of his neck as he stumbles over his words, not sure how to explain it to Seunghoon exactly.

“Minho, you keep dancing around the question.” Seunghoon pats the seat beside him. “Come and sit down for a bit.” 

“Fine,” Minho says as he plops down on the couch. “His name is Taehyun.”

“Taehyun? Why does that name sound so familiar...” Seunghoon mutters to himself quietly then looks back to Minho. “How’d you two meet?”

“He’s an old friend from back home, we ran into each other last night and hit it off.” Minho explains briefly, a little confused at Seunghoon’s comment. Did he ever mention the other to him? He doesn’t think so but maybe he’s mumbled the name a couple of times in his sleep.

“Did you two ever date?” Seunghoon asks, bringing Minho’s attention back to him. 

“Uh, sort of...back in high school—“

“Ah! An old flame, huh?” 

“I guess so.” Minho mutters, already wishing the conversation would end so he can go back to his room to dress.

Seunghoon’s hums and then bluntly asks, "Have you slept together?"

"Why on earth would you need to know that?" Minho balks, suddenly feeling his face heat up again.

"Oh, quit acting so shy! You sound like you’re still a virgin," Seunghoon chuckles low in his throat. “Which, y’know, I know you’re not.”

“I’m done with this conversation,” Minho gets up and strides back to his room hurriedly, hearing Seunghoon continue to laugh as he calls out “Enjoy your date! I want details later!” before shutting the door. 

………….

After that Minho spends the rest of the morning getting ready, glad that he isn’t working today and doing everything he can to ignore Seunghoon’s comments when he’s about to step out of their place after Taehyun texts him that he’s on his way to the park already.

When Minho arrives Taehyun is already seated on a park bench with a bag beside him and waves him over. Taehyun feels himself blush a little at the sight of Minho. This time he’s dressed in an all-black outfit with his hair down but still looks very handsome with that infectious smile of his. Compared to Taehyun’s own pink sweater and worn down blue jeans he feels too plain and tugs on his bucket hat to hide his reddening ears.

Meanwhile Minho thinks Taehyun looks adorable with his bucket hat and likes how the pink of his sweater compliments his peachy skin. “Hey,” Minho says, smiling softly at him and when Taehyun is within reaching distance, he hooks his hand at the base of his neck and pulls him forward for a chaste kiss.

Taehyun’s eyes slowly open again when Minho pulls back, a dazed expression on his face before he smiles warmly at Minho. “Hi,” he greets, suddenly feeling shy by the kiss but welcoming it all the same. 

Minho finds it endearing how at peace Taehyun looks and sits down beside him, shifting to face him properly and continues to stare at Taehyun till the other brings a hand to his face self-consciously. “What?”

Blinking, Minho smiles sheepishly back at him. “Sorry, this is still so unreal.”  _And you’re beautiful…_

“But it’s a good thing, right?” Taehyun asks, almost sounding insecure and Minho feels a smile tug on his lips. Taehyun may have always had an air of confidence around him but there were times he couldn’t hide his unsureness. 

“It is,” He slides his arm around Taehyun’s shoulders and pulls him close until his lips press against his temple. "I'm glad we found our way back to each other," Minho says. 

Taehyun has a small smile on his face at that and rests his head on Minho’s shoulder, taking one of Minho’s hands and entwining it with his own. “I am too.” 

They sit like that for a few minutes, taking in the nice view of the park and enjoying the chilly weather before Minho’s stomach announces itself rather loudly. Taehyun pulls away only to release a loud laugh while Minho brings a hand to cover his face in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry, I skipped breakfast since we were going to have lunch and—“

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me Minho,” Taehyun bites his lip to stop from laughing anymore when he sees how distress Minho looks. “That was unexpected but I figured it was time we eat.” He then leans down to hold up what he brought with him, which Minho suspects is a lunchbox wrapped in a scarf. “Might as well enjoy some good food with the nice weather outside.”  

“Wait, does this mean you cooked for me?” Minho asks with a smirk, his embarrassment seeming to vanish at the sight of food. 

“Ease off the greasiness. It’s much too earlier for that.” Taehyun snorts softly. “It’s just sandwiches okay? I made them myself. I wasn’t too sure what you liked but you look like the type that isn’t too picky about what you eat.” He says as he begins to unfold the box. “Also, I’m not the greatest cook but I can make a few decent dishes.”

Minho nods and opens his mouth, waiting for Taehyun to feed him. Taehyun huffs at the action but still brings a small triangle bread to Minho’s lips and lets the other take a bite before taking one himself. Minho hums thoughtfully as he chews and then swallows before speaking again, “it’s delicious.”

Taehyun rolls his eyes, “they’re sandwiches, you can’t really fuck up with those.”

“You don’t know that, besides I’m really hungry and right now these are the best sandwiches I’ve ever had!” He takes another bite from the offered piece Taehyun feeds him.

“You’re dumb.”

“Not dumb,” Minho shakes his head as he swallows. “Just crazy about you.” He had known he loved Taehyun long before he met him, he knew he loved him now and wasn’t ashamed to admit it even if the other found it embarrassing. 

However, Taehyun only laughs into his hand at Minho’s cheesiness. Being around Minho feels so natural, like they’ve known each other their whole life—and for the most part that is true. His arm hooks around Minho’s neck and drags him down to press his lips against his. It took a brief moment for Minho’s body to recuperate the action and while he was distracted with the slide of Taehyun’s tongue against his lip, Taehyun brings a hand up to touch the beads of Minho’s earring, seeming to find them interesting. Their kiss lingers for a moment longer before Taehyun pulls back with a smirk, “Crazy? Dumb? It all sounds the same to me.”

Minho snorts before pecking Taehyun’s lips. “Shut up.” He says, feeling warmth spread through him at the combination of Taehyun’s voice and his half-lidded eyes on him.

Taehyun continues to feed the both of them as they talk about some of their past and fill in any gaps or questions the other may have. Their little moment though is interrupted some time later when they hear approaching footsteps. 

“Taehyun? There you are!” Taehyun recognizes Seungyoon’s voice from behind him and releases a low groan before letting go of Minho’s hand to face his friend. 

“I’ve been calling you for like an hour man, so glad Jinwoo said you’d be here.” Seungyoon removes the black bag he has slung around his shoulder. “Here, you left your work clothes in my car. I don’t want you calling me later asking me to drop them off.”

"Uh yeah, sorry about that," He says, reaching for the bag Seungyoon has in his hands. However, Seungyoon on the other hand, stares at Minho with a frown on his face, wondering who this guy is that was just holding Taehyun’s hand a second ago and looking really comfortable with him. Taehyun follows his friend’s gaze and laughs nervously, "Oh…uh, this is Min—"

"I'm his boyfriend," Minho blurts out, his eyes narrowing slightly. It was an expression Taehyun could tell meant he was jealous.

"What? No, he's...ah,” Taehyun stumbles with a proper response to that. He frowns, wondering how in the hell Minho could say that when they haven’t even gone an official date yet or the fact that Seungyoon knew absolutely nothing about the other.

"Whoa, hey, it's not my business, even though I am your best friend and I'm pretty sure I should be upset that you've been seeing someone without telling me or Jinwoo. I've gotta run though, so I'll be pissed with you later," he says and gives Minho a wary smile before hurrying away. 

"Uh…well, I guess that was Seungyoon. He's a bit of a nagger," Taehyun coughs into his hand, suddenly feeling awkward as he rambles on. "I mean, he's great when it comes to singing and playing the guitar, a lot of his compositions are also good. And most of the time he’s cool but guess he was running late or whatever, but he really has no sense of timing or privacy for the matter. So sorry about that.”

Minho’s cold exterior is gone in seconds at the mention of the name and instead is filled with curiosity. “Seungyoon, huh? Didn’t expect to meet him so soon.” He was only told a few things about Taehyun’s friends back then but now Minho thought over the prospect of meeting them, wondering how they really were. 

“Me either,” Taehyun mumbles, slumping down and running a hand over his face. There was no doubt Seungyoon would be telling Jinwoo all about this. Taehyun was hoping he’d get to spend time with Minho for a bit before letting his friends know about them.

"I kind of want to meet him, anyone who can get under your skin this much has to be fun." Minho jokes from beside him.

"I dread the day," Taehyun mutters quietly. “And you’ll soon take back your words.”

Minho was quiet for a moment before asking, “You really don’t want me meeting your friends?”

“It’s not like that,” Taehyun sighs and looks over at Minho. “It’s just...I’m not trying to hide you but they can be nosy and I want you to be comfortable with them. They’ve been my best friends since we were kids…so I’m used to how they are. Plus, I rather have you to myself before all that happens.” 

Minho’s lips quirk a little at that, “But it’s going to happen at some point, right?”

“Well yeah...I just thought we could have a nice time together before then.” Taehyun shrugs, a small pout on his lips. 

“Taehyun.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go on a date. We can meet the friends some other time.” Minho suggests, happy to see when a slight flush appears Taehyun’s skin.

Taehyun nods and gives Minho a beaming smile. “I’d like that.” 

“Okay, so how about next weekend?” He asks.

“Can we make it Friday? I don’t work that day since I have a gig Saturday night.”

“A gig? For your band?” Minho perks up, suddenly remembering how he never got to hear Taehyun sing or any of his music for the matter. “Can I come?”

Taehyun chews on his lip nervously, “You really want to? I wouldn’t mind if you weren’t interested...” Most of the people he dated would go to a show or two before saying it wasn’t their thing. He could understand if Minho was the same and spare him from having to attend…and avoiding the disappointment to come.

But Minho’s response is the opposite of what Taehyun expects. “Are you serious? I’ve been wanting to hear you sing since forever. I’d love to go!” He grins excitedly and Taehyun can’t help but return it, feeling his heartbeat quicken as he stares at the soft tanned face.

“Okay, next weekend it is then.”

Minho agrees before he puts his arm around Taehyun’s side and shifts closer. "Sounds good," he murmurs pressing his lips to Taehyun’s forehead and enjoying their time together a bit more.

………….

It’s a little past 10:30 at the club Taehyun works at and he just finishes wiping down the counter when someone approaches the bar. Looking up with a smile plastered on his face it immediately drops when he sees who it is. “What are you doing here?”

Jinwoo pouts and takes a seat in front of him. “Hey, are you supposed to be this rude to customers?”

Taehyun’s eyes shift to make sure his manager isn’t around before answering. “Depends, are you actually going to pay this time?” He throws back. 

“Don’t be an ass! I do pay for my drinks.” Jinwoo slaps Taehyun’s arm and the other chuckles, liking how easily ruffled Jinwoo can get. 

“What do you want Jinwoo?” He asks, knowing fully well why his friend is here in the first place.

“Seungyoon says you’re seeing someone? How come you didn’t tell me! And why haven’t you been answering any of my texts all day?” Jinwoo frowns, hurt that Taehyun would try to avoid him.

Taehyun sighs, of course he expected the second Seungyoon left he would go off and blab to his boyfriend about what he saw earlier. He didn’t put it past his friends to want to know everything when it came to the people he dated. Still, he really wished Seungyoon hadn’t bumped into Minho and him at the park, it would save having this conversation for later. “Hm, yeah just recently.”

“I want details! Is he hot?”

He snorts at Jinwoo’s question and shrugs with smirk. “Hotter than your boyfriend.”

“Ha, funny.” Jinwoo says sarcastically. “Tell me his name please?” He prods, batting his doe eyes at Taehyun hoping it will work.

Taehyun refuses to give in to his friend’s trick and rolls his eyes. “Why, so you can stalk him online?” 

“What makes you think I would stalk him?” He gasps, looking appalled. 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you did that with my last ex? Or to my friend Ku? Seriously not every guy I befriend wants to sleep with me or vice versa.” He then flicks Jinwoo on the forehead, “You had no idea how embarrassing it was to explain that to him.”

“Okay, but I apologized to your friend and he forgave me! I really thought something was up with you two... And hey, there _was_ something fishy about that other guy you dated, which you know I was right about.” Jinwoo says pointedly as Taehyun frowns. “Plus, we're best friends, I gotta make sure you're okay," he pouts, crossing his arms over his chest cutely. 

"I'm a big boy, Jinwoo. I can take care of myself.” He defends, though he knows Jinwoo has always meant well.

Jinwoo simply huffs, sitting back as someone sits beside him. “What have I missed?” Seungyoon says, smiling like he already knows as Taehyun lets out an irritated sigh. 

“Seungyoon, Taehyun won’t tell me his boyfriend’s name. Y'know, I'm starting to not believe you guys," Jinwoo purses his lips, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Why are you complaining to Seungyoon? It’s not like he even knows his name.” Taehyun rolls his eyes again.  

“I think it started with a M?” Seungyoon supplies and ignores the curse Taehyun hisses at him. 

Jinwoo smiles thankfully at his boyfriend. “How did he look?”

“He’s handsome, that’s for sure.” Seungyoon starts, resting his hands on the counter. “Dressed in black with broad shoulders and tan skin, also his eyes are really fucking intense! I swear I thought for sure he was going to get up and murder me if I stayed any longer.” 

“Wait is that why you left in such a hurry?” Taehyun feels his lips twitch. No wonder Seungyoon hightailed it out of there so quickly. If only he knew how much of a softy Minho really was.

Jinwoo stares at Seungyoon with wide eyes and then looks back to meet Taehyun’s gaze. “Dark, handsome, and tan? Now I really want to see him! I feel so out of the loop it’s not even fair.” 

“Jinwoo, I don't even know if it's serious, and I'd rather introduce him when I know for sure," He lies, he already knows that their relationship is serious. “So, can you guys please give us some space? I promise I’ll tell you everything later.”

Seungyoon agrees quickly while Jinwoo does begrudgingly, “Fine...can we have something to drink?” Taehyun smiles, satisfied with his friends and goes to prepare them a drink. 

“I have my first date with him this weekend,” Taehyun admits when he comes back with their drinks, throwing a bone to his friends. And even though he knows they may not keep their word on getting involved, Taehyun still tells them a little about how they met and what kind of person Minho is up until they leave and he has to get back to work. 

………….

A whole week goes by and before any of them know it the night of their first date has arrived. Taehyun and Minho spent the entire week meeting up for walks around the park or sharing quick meals in between work and classes, and when they were apart they always made sure to call or text the other every morning and night. It’s crazy how they’ve gone on without each other for four years and now suddenly they can’t be apart for longer than a few hours. 

Now Minho was on his way to pick up Taehyun and he couldn’t be any more excited. He had found out there was going to be a light festival in the next city over and thought it be the perfect place to take Taehyun what with the winter holidays coming up. It reminded him of the lantern fest his own town would have at the end of summer and couldn’t wait to take Taehyun there one day. Just the thought of taking Taehyun to his hometown in general made him giddy. He knew the other would love it there just as much as Minho does. 

It isn’t long before Minho is standing in front of Taehyun’s building. He can’t exactly remember where Taehyun’s place is so he decides to just call him instead of knocking on the wrong door. Taking out his phone, he calls Taehyun and only has to wait for two rings before he picks up. 

“What do you want?” Taehyun answers, voice filled with annoyance and Minho pulls his phone back from his ear to stare at it. “Hello?!” 

Quickly bringing his phone back to his ear, Minho answers cautiously. “Huh...it’s me?”

“Minho?” Taehyun sounds surprised before cursing lightly. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were Jinwoo. I just got off the phone with him and...yeah, sorry about that. Are you here already?” 

“I was wondering why you weren’t answering my texts,” he laughs and can hear Taehyun make a noise of complaint. “Yeah, I am. Just outside but I can’t remember which place is yours so do you mind telling me?” He steps from side to side as he waits for Taehyun to answer.

“Sure,” he can hear shuffling and then a door a few floors up and just left of him is yanked open. Taehyun smiles down at him and hangs up the phone. Even with the low yellow lighting coming from behind him, Minho can tell Taehyun looks beautiful just by standing there. Minho climbs up the stairs till he is standing in front of him. “Hey,” Taehyun greets him sheepishly. “Wanna come in? I just need to find my wallet and we’re good to go.”

As Minho steps in behind Taehyun, he immediately wraps his arms around him, pulling Taehyun to his chest in a back hug. He can smell the cologne Taehyun is wearing and inhales at the intoxicating scent. Taehyun makes a noise of surprise but then turns around to hug Minho back with a bashful smile. 

“Wow, you look really good,” Minho says once he pulls away, eyes assessing him. Taehyun looks down and grins, satisfied with his outfit as well. He had on a light gray turtleneck with a sweater over it in a white marble print paired with faded jeans and black heeled boots. His hair was also styled to the side as oppose to his usual middle parted look.

“Ah, thank you. I figured I should try to even you out since you always seem to look good.” The one thing he doesn’t tell Minho is how he raided his closet all day just to try on almost everything before decided to pick this outfit. 

“Oh thanks,” Minho smiles, he himself had on a tartan patterned shirt with a black knitted sweater over and dark jeans with brown loafers and a black flat cap. He liked the contrast of black and white that came with their attire, kind of finding it funny how in some cases they were the opposite of each other with not only clothing but appearance as well, and maybe that’s what complimented them both. 

As Taehyun leaves to go retrieve his wallet, Minho takes a long look around his living room. The best way to describe the place was...unique. Low lighting filled the place along with stacks of CDs and vinyl records nearby on a shelf where he also catches sight of a few books of artists and about art, some of which he recognizes. The thing that catches his attention the most is one wall that’s filled with posters of bands and artists and polaroid pictures of Taehyun, friends, and some drawings and paintings. It all feels like splatters of who Taehyun is and Minho finds it entrancing how expressive it describes him.

“So where are we going?” Taehyun asks once he returns, all week Minho had been mum about where he was taking them and it was driving Taehyun insane to not beg the other. 

“Let’s just say it’ll take an hour at most to get there.” Minho says once he looks back to Taehyun, smiling secretly at him. 

Taehyun pauses and stares back at Minho. “Song Minho, if you plan on doing anything weird just know I have taken multiple boxing classes and know how to defend myself.” 

Minho nods without missing a beat. “I’m sure you can beat me to a pulp, no doubt.” 

They both break out into laughs after and then step outside to make their way to where Minho’s car is parked. Minho even goes as far as to open Taehyun’s door for him before getting in the car himself. 

Once they’re settled and strapped in, Minho starts the car and Taehyun looks over at him. “No seriously, I’ve been waiting a whole week can you please just tell me?” He even pulls out the big guns and pouts at him, Jinwoo would be so proud of him right now.

Minho glances to him and has to put a lot of self-restraint to not crack a smile. “No way. You’ll just have to wait and see.” 

“Jerk face,” Taehyun says as he leans back into his seat, but a smile spreads across his face when he sees Minho’s lips quirk upward.

They fill the time talking about mindless things like Minho’s work and projects while Taehyun talks about a few song compositions he’s working on in the studio till he mentions possibly busking around the city with his band. 

“That sounds interesting, but is it a good thing to do when the weather is dropping?” Minho asks concernedly. Taehyun had told him about his bandmates, they were a bit older than Taehyun but he spoke highly of them and Minho was looking forward to meeting them tomorrow along with getting to see Taehyun perform. 

“Ah you’re right.” Taehyun bites his thumb in thought. “If we can’t do it this month we can at least look for spots and then when the weather’s more suitable do it then.” 

Minho hums in agreement, seeing that they aren’t too far off from the city by the faint glow in the distant. Taehyun seems to catch sight of the growing lights as well and looks back to Minho questioningly. 

“Either this city is just full of lights or—" He stops as he puts it all together. “ _Oh_. I’ve never been to a light festival before.” Taehyun says in awe as they finally enter the city, lights of different colors and sizes scattered around poles and other places nearby. 

Minho smiles as he keeps his eyes on the road, happy to hear the excitement in Taehyun’s voice. “My friend Sehun lives here and he mentioned that the annual light festival was taking place so I thought it would be good to take you here.” 

Taehyun smiles and leans over to peck Minho on the cheek. “Thank you, just from where we are it already looks beautiful.”

“You have no idea, wait till we get further into the city. My town also kind of has something similar but instead we use lanterns, I’ll take you one day. It’s really fun.” 

“Yeah? I can’t wait then.” Taehyun bites his lip and continues to stare out the window till Minho finds a decent parking spot. 

Once they’re out, they walk a few meters before stopping for a moment to find a place mostly empty to catch a quick smoke. Taehyun seemed surprised to know Minho smokes as well but was also glad he didn’t have to hear the other chide him like others did (he already heard a whole mouthful from Seungyoon when he first started back in their first year of university). It wasn’t that bad of a habit and only was a real problem when he was dealing with some shit and needed to de-stress.

After they finish, Minho takes Taehyun’s hand and leads the way to where most of the light attraction is being displayed. They pause here and there to admire the ones hanging around, making a pathway to follow and also check out the different food stalls from vendors.

“You want anything?” Minho asks, wanting to get out the bitter taste from the cigarette out of his mouth. 

Taehyun looks around, inhaling the many types of food options and debating on what to get until he sees an ice cream cart. “That,” he points and Minho follows his gaze. 

“Alright,” the line isn’t that big seeing as the weather is already chilly enough and Minho doesn’t understand what’s so good about green tea ice cream when Taehyun chooses it but he doesn’t complain and gets his own swirl of vanilla and chocolate. 

Soon they’re back to walking with a couple of other snacks on them and munch along their way. Taehyun thinks this probably is the best date he’s been on because he gets to take in the beauty of a city filled with different lights and tasty food yet he thinks the only reason he’s enjoying himself the most is because Minho is right beside him the whole time.

As they approach where the main event is, Taehyun stops just to take in the breathtaking view. There is a large tunnel that is filled with lights shifting in every hue and illuminating the whole tunnel in a bright colorful spectrum all around. Taehyun feels Minho beside him tug at his hand as they start moving again. 

“Wait till you see what’s past the tunnel.” He says with a knowing grin. If Taehyun was taken with just by the tunnel he has no idea what he’s about to encounter next. 

“Oh my god,” Taehyun gasps as they make their way out only to now be in front of what he assumes is a park with everything, and he means  _everything_ , decorated in lights. It almost feels like he’s in some version of wonderland or something with the vibrancy of the place and the large sets of flowers, animals, and buildings created with just lights. “This is incredible,” he mumbles to himself, unable to takes his eyes off anything. 

“I know, when I first came here two years ago I couldn’t believe it myself. It takes around 4 months to set all this up and they leave it like this till spring.”

“I don’t blame them, this is just...I don’t even know what else to say but wow.” Taehyun then looks at Minho and gives him the biggest smile Minho has ever seen. “Thank you for bringing me here.” 

“No problem, I’m glad you like it.” Minho says as he pulls Taehyun into a tight embrace. Minho’s chin rests on his shoulder and Taehyun lets his eyes close as Minho’s warmth spreads through him.

“I love it...” Taehyun says as he rests his cheek on Minho’s shoulder, his eyes watching as a few flakes of snow began to float by. As they pull back, Minho cups his cheek before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. Taehyun smiles and tilts his head to the side to deepen it a little. He’s never felt happier or content then standing here in park surrounding in lights with Minho.

Minho fingers move through Taehyun’s hair and Taehyun just breathes in quietly, it felt nice to feel the real thing, the hands carding through his hair in such an intimate fashion. “Alright should we go see what else there is instead of just standing here and possibly blocking others?”

“I guess, they could always move around us if we were really in their way.” Taehyun shrugs and reaches to take Minho’s hand again. "Show me the way dear sir," he says with what Minho assumes is a British accent.

"Sir? It's about time that I get some recognition," Minho chuckles as they start moving.

"I was throwing you a bone.”

"All of a sudden I'm a dog?" He snorts in amusement.

"Yes, now be a good boy or there won’t be no belly rub later.”

Minho laughs again and Taehyun smiles before leaning into his arm. It was awfully cold out now that the snow had gathered up to about a half a cm. He brings the coat he’s wearing closer to him, glad that Minho had brought one for them both just in case it got colder.

He lets Minho lead them along and almost falls face first when the river nearby suddenly lights up and a boat slowly passes by. “Is that...we have to go there!” Taehyun tugs Minho’s arm forward and Minho lets the other drag him to wherever he wants to go. 

The rest of the night plays out wonderfully, especially with Minho's warm hand in Taehyun's own as they made their way throughout the many-colored lights and the light snow that falls around them. 

………….

By the time Minho drops Taehyun off, it’s well past 2 in the morning but it seems like time is the least of their concerns whenever they spend time together. 

“I had a good time overall, what about you?” Minho asks as they stand in front of Taehyun’s door.

Taehyun looks up in mock thought but smiles when he hears Minho chuckles in amusement at the sight. “I’d say it was decent.”

“I know a way to improve that,” Minho says as he steps closer, their bodies flush against the other.

Taehyun feels his breath catch at the sudden closeness. He couldn’t stop staring at Minho’s warm gaze and without much thought Taehyun feels himself lean in and before he knows it, his lips pressed lightly on Minho’s own soft ones.

Minho reacts by wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling the other even more closer. Taehyun can feel Minho’s smile within the kiss and groans when the other licks his lower lip before nibbling on it teasingly. He responds by opening his mouth and meeting Minho’s tongue with his own, but then shifts to sucking on it suggestively. Minho seems to like that a lot because his hands move up to his hair to run through it as he tilts his head to the side to deepen their kiss.

Feeling a little awkward with his hands just limp on his sides, Taehyun moves them to Minho’s hips and let’s his fingers dip into the waistband of his jeans, slightly breaching the lines of his boxers and caressing his lower back. Minho stutters at the action before turning up the intensity of the kiss and moving so their hips rub against each other more. Taehyun lets out a choked gasp as the pleasure builds inside him.

It’s only when he hears something down the hall that Taehyun remembers where they are. “M-Minho,” he calls out. Minho is kissing the sensitive side of his neck and Taehyun brings his hand up to grip the other’s hair to hold himself from moaning loudly.

“Hm?”

“We should stop…I don’t want anyone to see us basically humping each other against the door.” Taehyun says breathlessly. He feels Minho snicker against his neck and pick his head back up.

“Sorry, guess I got a little carried away?”

Taehyun licks his redden lips “Just a little, yeah.” Minho leans his head against the door and stares at Taehyun amusingly. “What?”

“I don’t want to leave.” He whines with a cute pout and Taehyun has to resist rolling his eyes, or smiling.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

Minho makes a noise of complaint but gives in. “Fine.” He steps aside to let Taehyun pass but then wraps his arms around the other’s slim waist and turns him over.

“Minh—" Taehyun doesn’t get to finish when he feels Minho’s lips brush against his own, then nipping at them playfully. He groans and pushes at Minho’s chest. “Stop…or else I won’t want you to leave.”

Minho chuckles and cups Taehyun’s cheeks with a warm smile. “That’s kind of the point, babe.” Taehyun gives him a warning look in return. “Alright, alright. Goodnight.”

Taehyun is about to respond but Minho leans forward and presses a sweet kiss on his forehead, lingering just a bit. He’s so caught off guard he misses Minho walking off with a big smile across his tanned face.

“Night…” Taehyun says to the cold air, feeling his heart beat faster at the warm display. Minho truly is something else, but Taehyun is smitten.

………….

Taehyun has barely stepped inside his place just as another voice speaks up, making him groan. “Hm, yep I don’t recognize that one but Seungyoon was right, he sure is handsome.”

Turning to where the source is, Taehyun flicks on the light switch to see Jinwoo peeking out from his window curtain. “Remind me again to change the locks on the door so neither Seungyoon or you can drop by unannounced.” Somehow, he’s glad Minho and him didn’t continue their make out session inside, who knows what would have happened but he also can’t fight the heat he feels creeping behind his neck at the idea of Jinwoo hearing or seeing them just now. ... _And here I thought Minho was shameless._

Jinwoo ignores Taehyun’s comment and continues to look out. “So, what’s his name?"

"Minho," Taehyun mumbles as he takes off his shoes by the side door. He should have known his friend would do something like this. 

"That’s nice of him to drop you off, why isn't he leaving yet?"

Taehyun walks over to where Jinwoo is to see that indeed Minho is still parked outside his street. "No idea Woo, maybe he's on his phone." He moves away from the window and lets out a sigh. Taehyun hopes it’s only Jinwoo whose here and not Seungyoon as well. It’s not that he doesn’t love his friends, but sometimes Jinwoo and Seungyoon could be a little over protective, especially when it came to who Taehyun dated. 

"It looks like he's cheering or something...?” Jinwoo muses, a curious smile on his lips as he sees this Minho guy have his hands raised in a fist pumping motion.

Taehyun cringes as he hangs up his coat too and fights the urge to go take a look. "Jinwoo, quit spying," He says and then asks, "Where's Seungyoon?" Maybe it is best the other is here as well, at least then he can tame his boyfriend better then Taehyun could. 

"He went to the market, you don’t have much food here," Jinwoo replies, finally stepping away from the window. "How come I've never heard of this Minho before? You said you knew each other when you were young but you never told us about him.”

“I dunno, maybe it’s cause we only hung out a few times as kids and then literally bumped into each other here in this city after so many years.” Taehyun says defensively.

"I was just asking, was it a bad date or something?" Jinwoo asks, sounding more concerned than upset like a normal friend would be.

Taehyun looks at the other and takes in the dark, fluffy hair and creamy skin along with his doe-like eyes and feels himself soften. His date had been wonderful, in fact he could still feel the press of Minho’s lips against his and unknowingly smiled. “No, it was...amazing.” 

Jinwoo perks up and returns the smile. “Are you going to see him again soon?” 

“Yeah, he’s going to see my band play tomorrow.” Taehyun pauses to then look at Jinwoo. “If you guys plan on coming please try and be normal with him? I...really like him.” He shyly admits.

Jinwoo is quiet for a moment, taking in Taehyun’s flushed face and somehow feels happy to see his friend finally find someone that makes him this way. “I promise. It’s so weird though, you two really look mismatch if you hadn’t said you known each other.”

“I know, right?” Taehyun laughs, though he kind of feels his insecurity start to kick in at that thought.

“But,” Jinwoo continues, “just from what I saw, you two even each other out.” Smiling when Taehyun’s face slightly reddens more. “Now can you me about your date, please?” He even pouts knowing Taehyun would either ignore or give in to him, luckily it was the latter.

Taehyun smiles gratefully at him. “Okay, but if Seungyoon walks in midway I’m not starting over.”

“That’s fine, I’ll just call him so he can hear it as well.” Jinwoo takes out his phone, already calling his boyfriend.

 _Of course you would..._  Taehyun thinks but still moves to sit beside Jinwoo comfortably and prepares to speak just as Seungyoon picks up. 

………….

The club Taehyun is performing at is already getting packed by the time Minho arrives. Taehyun asked Minho if he wanted to go with him and his band but he figured they would need time to set up and tune their instruments and didn’t want to just linger in the background so he told Taehyun he would just meet him there.

He thought about inviting a friend to tag along with him but when Taehyun mentioned that Seungyoon and Jinwoo would probably be showing up he decided it was best to go on his own and meet them for himself. Taehyun didn’t look very happy at that and had been anxious the whole time they had lunch earlier. Minho assured him everything would be fine and if things did get hectic they could just leave after Taehyun’s performance. That seemed to quell Taehyun’s nerves and they continued the rest of their lunch without any problems. 

Looking around the club, Minho likes the vibe of the place that is illuminated in shades of red, purple, and green. The bass of a song is playing from the speakers throughout the club and Minho is happy he’s able to dress down from his usual attire. Constantly having to make himself presentable for work can be tiring after a while. Instead he feels very comfortable in his black hoodie with a graphic t-shirt pulled over it and ripped black jeans, his hair styled up and pushed to the side. 

Soon the lighting begins to darken more and direct all its focus on the stage in front. Cheers are heard from all around as the band takes their places and that’s when Minho sees Taehyun step up to the center of the stage. He moves to get a closer view, not wanting to miss anything and manages to catch Taehyun’s eye. Minho smiles at him with a little wave and Taehyun returns the gesture with a small grin before looking ahead just as the song starts. 

The strumming of the guitar is heard just as the bass joins in with the drums accompanying it. Taehyun leans into the mic and closes his eyes as he begins to sing. At that very moment it feels like everything has stopped except for the melody Taehyun is singing. Minho is finally hearing Taehyun singing and his voice feels like it has some kind of grip on him as it pulls him forward and envelopes itself around him. He feels breathless.

Taehyun’s voice is...angelic? Minho isn’t even sure how to properly describe his voice or if there’s even a way to phrase it so. It was beautiful, and different and unique. It was _Taehyun_. As for the music, Minho grew up hearing mostly hip-hop and rap but he did like other styles and the band’s music was something else. There seemed to be a combination of different sounds and yet it all blended well together.

He enjoys himself as he watches the rest of their performance with every song they play, particularly paying attention to Taehyun and the way he presents himself on stage. The air of confidence he has reminds Minho of when they were younger and yet he finds himself completely smitten by this new version. Watching as Taehyun belts out the last song and move around the stage enthusiastically, even interacting with the crowd which seems to please many of them. Minho can see exactly where Taehyun’s passion lies and is captivated by this new experience. 

When the last notes are played the crowd cheers loudly and Taehyun smiles widely as he thanks them all for coming out and supporting them. He then begins to help the staff to put their equipment away, Minho meanwhile relocates to the bar to wait for Taehyun. 

Around fifteen minutes later Taehyun finally re-emerges from the back, he looks around searching for Minho and spots him by himself at the bar. A good sign in Taehyun’s opinion because he didn’t see a certain duo in the crowd earlier. Making his way through the swarm of people, Taehyun thanks a few who stop to tell him he did a good job until he’s standing in front of Minho. “Hi,” he smiles tiredly. 

Minho seems to catch his tone and opens his arms invitingly. Taehyun leans in and rests his head on Minho’s chest as Minho circles his arms around him. “You were, no I mean you guys were amazing!” He hears Minho’s deep voice say and smiles. Taehyun thinks that even if he were in a crowd of millions he’d still be able to pick Minho out due to the distinction of his voice. 

Picking his head up, Taehyun leans up and presses a chaste kiss to Minho’s lips. “Thanks...so I’m guessing you enjoyed yourself?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Minho raises a brow with a grin. “I had no idea what to expect but just know you blew my mind away, you guys did so good!”

“Good,” Taehyun smiles so all his teeth show and Minho thinks it makes him look like a bunny, but a cute one. Taehyun then pulls away from their hug and looks around them. 

“What are you doing?” Minho asks amusingly, he can already guess.

“Trying to see if Jinwoo and Seungyoon are here. If we’re lucky they didn’t show up and we can just leave,” Taehyun explains as he looks back to Minho.

Minho shakes his head with a smile, “Weren’t you going to introduce me to your bandmates though?”

“Oh yeah,” Taehyun says sheepishly and begins to lead them to where they are sitting. However, when they get to the booth Taehyun sees two familiar faces amongst his bandmates and silently curses. 

“Took you guys long enough!" Jinwoo says over the music thumping through the club. His attention then shifts to the person standing behind Taehyun and he smiles welcomingly. “Hi, I’m Jinwoo!”

Minho goes to take his offered hand but Taehyun moves in front of him. “Move over.” He says as everyone shuffles to make more room for them. As they sit down, Taehyun feels a little heat creep up his neck when Minho’s hand closes around his under the table. 

Jinwoo doesn’t seem deterred and leans in far too close to Minho for Taehyun’s taste. “So you’re Taehyun’s boyfriend, huh?”

“Personal space, Jinwoo,” Taehyun hears Seungyoon mumble just as Minho responds.

“Minho,” He supplies with a light smile, and Taehyun is relief to see Minho is not bothered by Jinwoo’s eagerness. Which might have been for the better, because Taehyun’s sure he might have said something rude if Minho hadn’t spoken.

"It’s nice to finally meet you," Jinwoo says as he finally sits back, his smile still pleasant before he winks in approval at Taehyun’s general direction and he feels like dying. 

“Uh, okay well guys this is Minho,” Taehyun begins as he clears his throat. “Minho, the blonde here is Euimyung, he’s our bassist, Wonyoung is the oldest and he plays the drums, and Kunku is our guitarist but we just call him Ku.” The band members and Minho all exchange greetings before Taehyun moves onto his best friends. “You kind of already met Seungyoon before, but this is Seungyoon and Jinwoo, my oldest and dearest friends.” He says laced in sarcasm but Seungyoon merely shrugs while Jinwoo laughs.

“Be nice,” Minho chides him and Taehyun looks at him with a playful grin, their eyes meet and Taehyun feels himself finally relax.

“Just look at them, they really are cute together,” Jinwoo’s voice brings them back and Taehyun looks to his friend. “I can’t believe you wanted to hide him from us.”

“As if you weren’t spying out my window last night,” Taehyun scoffs under his breath but Minho hears and raises a brow at him confusedly.

“He what?”

“I’ll tell you later…” Taehyun says quietly and then stands up. “I’m going to go get a drink.” He announces.

“I’ll go with you,” Ku offers.

Taehyun nods before turning back to Minho. “Do you want to come?”

“I’m fine here,” Minho says. “You go, I’ll talk to your friends.”

“Okay, but if Jinwoo says anything that makes you uncomfortable just ignore him.” Taehyun says, hearing a ‘hey!’ from his friend. “I’ll grab you something. Be right back.” He moves to slip pass Minho and purposefully messes his hair, causing Minho to smile at him and then walks over to the bar with Ku.

“You should make sure to drink lightly if you plan to monitor your boy over there,” Wonyoung speaks up as he takes a swig from his bottle.

Minho glances back to where Taehyun is talking with Ku, leaning against the table as they wait for their drinks and then back to Wonyoung. “Why is that?”

“You’re going to have to wrap all that…” Wonyoung made a circular motion around Taehyun from across the club, “up when he’s done. I imagine that he’s your responsibility now.” He hums.

Minho doesn’t understand but Seungyoon adds in, “He means Taehyun can get pretty clumsy when he’s drunk.

Jinwoo laughs and nods his head. “Not like he already is, but he's literally tripped over himself more times than we can count drunk than sober. It’s as if he’s a newborn trying to walk for the first time.”

They all share a laugh at that, having experienced it themselves and Minho smiles wondering how bad Taehyun can be.

Euimyung then looks to Wonyoung. “I thought you were talking about Taehyun and Ku in general.”

Seungyoon snorts and Jinwoo groans. “Can we please not mention that here.”

“Mention what?” Minho asks, looking at all of them questioningly.

“Jinwoo here thought Taehyun and Ku were sleeping together.” Euimyung says with a laugh.

“Huh?” Minho frowns, though he’s not mad just curious as to why.

Wonyoung takes in Minho’s expression and tries to clear up the mess before it even happens. “You don’t have to worry though, Ku has a girlfriend. Jinwoo just assumed at the time that there was something going on.”

Minho goes to respond when Taehyun and Ku come back. “So, what did we miss?” He asks, handing Minho is drink and noticing the way Minho looks stiffly.  

Taehyun immediately assumes its due to Jinwoo and turns to give him deathly glare but Jinwoo shakes his head. “I wasn’t the one who mentioned it! It was Euimyung!”

“Mention…” he trails off as he sees the guilty look his friend is giving him and puts it all together. Taehyun releases a sigh and gives Minho an apologetic look.

“It’s fine,” Minho starts before Taehyun can say anything, giving him a reassuring smile. He really didn’t want Taehyun to get upset at his friends. “If the guys say it was a misunderstanding than that’s all it is.”

“Are you sure?” Taehyun asks, brows worrying together. The music in the club sounded even louder than before and it was getting more difficult to hear clearly but Minho nods and links their hands together again.

This definitely wasn’t how Taehyun pictured the night would start off but luckily his friends jump in to try and ease the conversation away from any further awkwardness.

………….

A few drinks later filled with shared stories and Minho finally realizes what everyone meant about drunk Taehyun. He kept fumbling around after his third drink and then dragged Minho to the dancefloor where he spent most of the time almost falling over or bumping into other people rather than dancing.

Minho had stuck to one drink since he was driving and currently had Taehyun hanging onto his shoulder as he made their way back to the booth. “Is he always like this?”

“Usually, yeah.” Seungyoon answers. He had barely a sip of his own drink while Jinwoo was making his way to drink number 5 but still seeming more sober than any of them.

“Okay well I think we’re gonna call it a night,” Minho says as he stops Taehyun from grabbing another drink from the table, knowing drunk people don't like to hear the word 'no' and making sure to watch what he says.

Taehyun looks perplex for a moment as he stares at the table where the drink he was eyeing disappeared and then back to Minho. “Mn…maybe you’re r-right?”

“You don’t sound too sure about that,” Minho tries his best not to laugh as Taehyun frowns and shakes his head for a moment before he hugs him, snuggling into his chest happily.

“No, I’m tired…let’s go.” Taehyun lets go of Minho to wave bye at his friends and even pulls Jinwoo into a tight hug. “I feel like I should be mad at you…” he mumbles against the other.

“Yeah?” Jinwoo says with an amused smile on his face, used to Taehyun turning soft on him after he’s too drunk to really care.

“Mm…I…uh, mm not sure,” Taehyun slurs and grins at Jinwoo. “Do you want to dance?” he asks instead. “Min…ho doesn’t want to anymore.”

“Ah, I think it’s a little too late. What would Minho think?”

“He doesn…doesn’t? Doesn’t get a say.” He says pouting, leaning more into Jinwoo as he starts to lose his balance.

“He doesn’t?” Jinwoo laughs at the absurdness and straightens Taehyun back up before pulling away from his hug. “I think it’s time for you to go.” He tells him, looking his drunk friend in the eye to get his message across. 

“You’re right,” Taehyun mumbles. Minho doesn’t really know what to make of the situation but he finds it humorous all the same, especially when Taehyun pulls Jinwoo back in for another hug. “M’ love you.”

“I love you too, now get some rest.” Jinwoo says as he pats his back.

Taehyun unwinds his arms from Jinwoo and says bye to everyone again before turning back to Minho with a bright smile. “I’m all yours!”

Minho chuckles and leads them out of the club with some difficulty, but that could be because Taehyun is leaning heavily on him by the time they are halfway down the street. “We’re almost to my car, just a bit further.”

“Why did you park so far? It’s freezing.” Taehyun says and tugs Minho’s arm closer to him. Seeming to sober up probably because of the cold.

Minho looks to Taehyun and just shrugs. “Your friends were interesting.”

“Yeah? Sorry for earlier, I probably should have said something about, well _that_.” Taehyun leans even more weight on Minho’s shoulder as he talks.

“It’s alright, you were right about Jinwoo though.” Minho hooks his arm around Taehyun’s waist to help support him a little more.

Taehyun snorts. “Told you so.”

“But they were right about you being a clumsy drunk,” Minho hears Taehyun groan and smiles. “If it makes you feel better everyone says I’m too flirty when I’m drunk.”

“I don’t doubt that. You look like the type that first gets flirty till you’re either thrashed or clinging to someone.” Taehyun stops walking when he feels Minho stop as well. The look on Minho’s face clearly shows that Taehyun hit the mark on that one.

“That was way too descriptive,” Minho says, and he might have said something else too if he didn't feel his footing slide against a sheet of ice on the ground. Next thing he knows his shoulder is throbbing and he’s staring up at the sky. Taehyun lets out a short yelp as he gets dragged down by Minho and trips over him. When Minho gathers all his thoughts again, he is on his back on the sidewalk and Taehyun is as well with his legs strewn across Minho’s middle.

"Ughhhh, I think I broke my ass," Taehyun moans but he doesn’t move.

"Sorry, I uh…I guess I didn't let go of your hand.” _Well that was embarrassing,_ Minho thinks. 

Taehyun shifts himself up onto his elbows and peers down at Minho, "You think? I'm going to have a bruise on my butt."

"Are you okay?" Minho asks, a puff of air coming out of his mouth.

"Yeah, how about you, did you hit your head?" Taehyun says, reaching forward and gently wedging his fingers beneath Minho’s head and begins to massage at it.

Minho shakes his head, "No, hit my shoulder.”

Taehyun’s eyes were half-lidded as he looks at Minho, he tugs him to the side for a short kiss. "That's a little better…" Taehyun says before sucking a breath in through his nose and laying back to stare up at the sky. It was cold outside, and it made sense since the stars were out in the middle of a snowy winter.

"Want to get up? Kind of a weird position for stargazing.” Minho says after a while.

"Not really…" Taehyun responds, resting one of his hands on his stomach, his cheeks were growing pink from the cold. Minho could only imagine what his face looked like.

"Okay, we'll stay here then," Minho lays his head back and tries to ignore the way the snow is melting all over his back.

"Oh my god, honey bring me the phone there's two boys out here I think they're dead!" an older woman's voice shouts from a place nearby. "What do you mean why? Because they're not moving, why can't you just listen to me for once!"

Minho blinks as he hears the elderly couple fight and he turns to Taehyun who is staring over wide eyed before he bursts out laughing. "We're fine! I promise!" He calls out and shifts up onto his elbow.

"Hold it, they're moving!" she calls back inside. "You're not dead, are you?"

There is the slightest mumble as Taehyun awkwardly twists his legs off Minho before he lifts himself to his feet and holds his hand out for Minho to grab. "We're alive!" Taehyun calls out again.

When Minho is standing as well, he hears her voice again, "Who just lays there in the street! Don't tell me it's my imagination!" she yells into the house before she slams the door.

Taehyun has a hard time trying to keep his face straight as they begin to walk again. “You know, I’m supposed to be the one who trips here but guess you took one for the team.”

Minho rolls his eyes and shoves Taehyun with his shoulder. “It was the ice, not me.”

“Sure, sure.” Taehyun nods. “Keep telling yourself that. I’m not the one who grabbed onto me and dragged me down with you!”

“I guess I can’t live without you,” Minho snickers to himself.

Taehyun looks at him with wide eyes and then starts laughing. “Yeah, it’d be awfully lonely.”

As they reach his car, they get in quickly to escape the cold. Minho waits for the car to heat up before starting it and driving away. Taehyun looks out the window and watches as snow falls. “It’s snowing again,” he murmurs.

Minho tips his head to see. “It is, I should get you home before we have a blizzard on our hands.”

“Can I stay over instead? I don’t feel like going home.” 

“Fine with me.” Minho replies.

“Do you think Seunghoon is around?” Taehyun asks. He’s hasn’t met the other but he’s been curious for quite some time.

“Probably? But he’s most likely passed out. He doesn’t like to be out so late.”

When they arrive at Minho’s place, they quietly make their way to his room and Taehyun slips his shoes off and stretches before promptly flopping on the bed with a muffled groan.

“Taehyun we need to get out of these clothes,” Minho says as he removes his shirt and hoodie, leaving the black tank top on as he kicks his shoes off.

“Fine…” Taehyun rolls over onto his back and watches Minho from beneath his lashes, admiring the tattoos peeking out. He hadn’t seen all of them fully but Minho had shown him a couple of pictures after he caught sight of Taehyun’s own. Although Taehyun’s were not as big or as bold as Minho’s, he did think they suited the other well.

Minho feels a foot placed firmly on his stomach and looks up at Taehyun when he begins to wiggle it against his abdomen. “No,” Minho says, not even having to ask what Taehyun is implying.

“Please?”

“You’re not helpless Taehyun,” Minho mutters but then yanks the sock off as well as the other when Taehyun rests his other leg on his stomach as well.

“You need to get my pants too,” Taehyun pleads.

“Unbutton them for me.”

Taehyun moves his hands down and did as Minho instructs. The gaze Taehyun has trained on Minho doesn’t waver as Minho tugs him closer, distorting the neatly made bed as he places Taehyun closer to the edge of it. Taehyun’s arms rest above his head before he shifts his hips and any idea of Minho complaining flies past his mind as he tugs the jeans down Taehyun’s hips and farther down his slim legs until he could toss them away.

Taehyun’s head tips before he shifts on the bed by himself, not missing a beat he sits up completely and lifts his arms up as Minho slowly pulls his shirt up and over his head and flings it across the room. He gives Minho a sultry look and hooks his fingers in the loops of Minho's pants, tugging them but not fully pulling them down.

“Taehyun…” Minho swallows thickly, he can’t handle the half-lidded gaze Taehyun is giving him.

Taehyun’s lips are on his a moment later and Minho loses his ability to think as Taehyun’s tongue slides against his. All bets are off when he feels Taehyun’s thigh between his legs as he grinds against him, sparking an intense sense of desire deep within Minho. Taehyun’s hands gently caress up his sides and to his shoulder blades before he tugs Minho toward the bed and straddles his hips.

“You had a lot to drink…you sure y—” any protests seem to die when Taehyun’s lips find his again and Minho groans as Taehyun presses down so their hips can grind together in the most pleasurable way. “Shit,” Minho whispers when Taehyun pulls back and tugs at his pants. In his pleasure filled mind all Minho can do is lift his hips as Taehyun rids him of his pants while he yanks his tank top off and throws it aside, fully exposing his chest to Taehyun who moans admiringly.

Taehyun leans back over him and the teasing kisses he trails down Minho’s neck send shivers running through his entire body. He feels Taehyun’s hands pull his briefs down and wrap around his already hard cock. Minho lets his head fall back and close his eyes as Taehyun runs his tongue along the head and Minho lets out a groan that stretches into something a little louder when Taehyun takes him fully into his mouth and slowly begins to find a rhythm that was driving Minho to the brink of release a lot sooner than he expected.

Minho’s breathing grows more uneven when Taehyun lets go of Minho’s cock, he glances down and sees Taehyun circle the tip of his tongue around the head before returning to bobbing his head up and down eagerly. He starts to hum and Minho lets out a strangled moan as he feels the heat of Taehyun’s mouth intensify and places his hand in Taehyun’s hair urging him up.

Taehyun pulls back, his lips parted and slightly swollen when he looks up at Minho, “What’s wrong?”

Minho shakes his head, “C’mere,” he breathes shakily and Taehyun crawls over him. Minho leans up and latches his mouth onto the curve of Taehyun’s neck as his hands caress down his back and his thumbs slide into the hem of Taehyun’s boxers. “This okay?” He asks breathily when he pulls back.

Taehyun nods and Minho slides them down over the curve of Taehyun’s backside, taking the chance to grope him and reaching around to grasp his erection. “Min…” Taehyun moans his name like a curse.

“Hm?” Minho looks at Taehyun’s face as he begins to stroke him, watching the pleasure take form and Taehyun move to sit on his lap.

Taehyun’s breathing increases and Minho’s eyes never leave his face. “Feels good,” he murmurs quietly and open his eyes to grasp Minho’s cock in his hand. Minho was already close so he didn’t protest and just let them both ride it out until they released into their hands.

Taehyun’s brow unwrinkled slowly after he came and he relaxes with a slight tremble in his body before smiling and shifting to lie on his side. He doesn’t say anything and neither does Minho as he sits there panting quietly with his eyes closed. When they open again, he looks over to see Taehyun is already asleep and Minho breathes out a smile. He gets up to clean them off before settling down on his side with his arm around Taehyun’s waist, his other hand linking with Taehyun’s.

………….

Minho opens his eyes some time later and sees it’s still dark outside and in his room, but even so it’s easy to identify Taehyun with the way his back is illuminated from the light filtering through the window.

Taehyun was staring down at him which explained the weight on his chest. “You’re up?” He says softly. Minho feels Taehyun’s fingers run calmly through his hair and then his lips press against his forehead.

“Yeah,” Minho breathes out and pulls Taehyun down until he rests firmly on top of him before he can move away. “What time is it?” He asks with sleep clouding his voice and notices Taehyun is in one of his sweaters. “And how long have you been up?”

“For a while, got cold.” Taehyun murmurs and rests his head on his chest, hands sliding across his torso and gently tracing the tattoos on his shoulders and sides. “I think it’s 6 so the sun should be out soon.”

Minho lets out a low breathy laugh and tips Taehyun’s chin up to catch his lips in a slow sensual kiss. When he pulls back he feels Taehyun relax back on the bed and sighs. Minho shifts and sits up properly with Taehyun, taking his hand and studying his gaze. “You okay?”

Taehyun shrugs, leaning back to Minho’s chest and quietly playing with their hands for a long time before he speaks up again. “You know…I wonder if that place is another life or something, or maybe just another universe altogether.”

“Maybe? I always thought it was something along the line.” Minho says, not even having to ask what Taehyun is referring too. Since reuniting they really hadn’t spoken about their dreams except for the first night.

“I don’t think people would ever believe us if we ever told them, and…honestly even if we never really know why or how this all happened,” Taehyun looks over his shoulder to Minho, “I like the thought of being made for you.” He says softly.

Minho is silent as he takes in Taehyun’s words. He feels the same way about Taehyun as well. He knew what it was to be loved, he had dreamed it, he had felt it. And even as years had passed, somewhere deep inside of him, Minho knew it was Taehyun, and he knew that there would never be anyone else for him. Having Taehyun here now is not just surreal but maybe a blessing? It hasn’t been that long since they’ve been together but Minho knows that both Taehyun and him want to make this relationship work not because they fell in love within their dreams but because there is this sense of belonging they both feel inside of them that even with the many changes in their lives or who they are now, they can still grow together and work things out.

“Do you…feel the same way?” Taehyun asks quietly, looking ready to move away but Minho stops him by wrapping his arm around him.

“I do,” Minho confirms but he can still feel the tension in Taehyun’s body and looks at him. His insecurity is still very present but Minho just rubs his back and kisses to the nape of his neck. “I’m here, _we’re_ here. It’s you and me, I promise.” He assures him and soon the tension fades away. It’s quiet between them once again, but its comfortable.

“We should live together,” Taehyun jokes after some time.

“I think we need to be dating longer for anyone to consider it normal or else they’ll think were jumping too fast and call us crazy.” Minho snorts but finding it interesting that Taehyun is actually saying things like that.

“There are people who literally meet for the first time before deciding they want to get married,” Taehyun shrugs. “We’ve known each other for a long time, even if it was in our dreams. I think we outdo everyone else.”

“Probably,” Minho agrees and then moves to lay back down again. Taehyun follows suit and they stare at one another.

“When we live together, I’m buying as much tacky stuff as I can.” Taehyun declares. “You think you’re going to stop me, but I’m going to do it Minho.”

Minho raises an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? What makes you think I don’t like that kind of stuff? If we’re going to be those people with all kinds of collections we better do it good.”

Taehyun laughs loudly and covers his hand when it echoes throughout the room. “We have to live together before we can do any of that.”

“What are we waiting for then?” Minho says and looks around.

“Time, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Minho says with a yawn.

“Tired?” Taehyun asks.

“Mhmm,” he nods, his voice drifting off.

“Go back to sleep,” Taehyun says, ready to go back to sleep himself.

“’kay,” Minho says and is asleep moments later.

Taehyun watches Minho for only a moment before closing his eyes too. Tonight has to probably be the most intimate moment they’ve had so far, Taehyun thinks and moves to be closer to Minho as he drifts to sleep.

………….

Taehyun wakes up the next morning to see Minho moving around his room in just boxer, his hair is wet and a towel hangs around his shoulders as he gathers a few things. Taehyun can see that Minho’s tanned skin is natural and also has a clear view of the upside-down crown and oxygen tattoo on the side of his body. He spends a few minutes quietly observing him while hiding most of his face in Minho’s single pillow that he admittedly stole in his sleep. Taehyun always thought Minho was an attractive person but boy did he grow up really, really well.

“What time is it?” he finally says, hiding his face fully in the pillow for a moment to try and collect himself and not drifting to the things they did last night.

Minho doesn’t turn to look at him as he speaks, “I don’t know, maybe noonish?” Taehyun grows a little sad when Minho finally decides to throw on a shirt. There is such a wonderful definition to the muscles in his back, it was a crime to hide it away. Taehyun silently tells himself to measure Minho’s back next time when the other is asleep to see just how wide his shoulders are.

Minho finally walks over to the bed and leans down to where Taehyun is now on his knees, the covers bunched up around him. Taehyun immediately shoots his hand out and stops Minho’s face with the palm of his hand, his fingers smushing his face lightly.

“Wh’t’r you d’ng?” Minho says, voice muffled by Taehyun’s hand until he moves it away from his face.

“Morning breath,” Taehyun huffs obviously. “I need to brush my teeth.”

“Don’t care,” Minho says and cups Taehyun’s face before he finds Minho’s lips on his and relaxes into it easily enough. Taehyun groans as he feels Minho’s teeth scrape lightly against his lip then moves down to place open mouth kisses along his neck. Minho’s hands move to the inside of Taehyun’s sweater and rest at his rib cage, dragging his fingers slowly downward till they reach the hem of the sweater which reaches midway to his thighs. He silently wonders if Taehyun is even wearing underwear and is about to lift the sweater up to see for himself when a voice speaks up from the door.   

“Y’know, I had a feeling you were gay.” Both Minho and Taehyun pull away from each only to see Seunghoon leaning against the door with a cup of tea. 

“Fuck you Seunghoon, everyone knows that already…” Minho frowns as Taehyun adjusts the sweater and falls back into bed completely red from his face.

Suddenly a dog comes running in and hops onto the bed, beginning to sniff and lick at Taehyun. Minho tries to swat the animal off his bed but the dog is quick and dodges. Taehyun doesn’t seem to mind and pets the dog behind the ears as it wags its tail happily.

“His name is Haute.” Seunghoon offers the unasked question. Seeming to enjoy how Taehyun is playing with his dog. 

“Haute, huh? Kind of like...”

“The meaning? Yep. My boy here was born to be fashionable like his dad.” Seunghoon smiles proudly and then walks forward with his hand out to Taehyun. “I’m Seunghoon, Minho’s roommate.”

“He didn’t ask,” Minho says, feeling irritated at his roommate’s presence.

“Don’t be rude, Minho.” Taehyun scolds him and takes Seunghoon’s offered hand. “Taehyun,” he says with a smile, though it’s clear he is still mortified about what just happened right now.

“It’s okay, I only came in here because I saw the door was a little open and thought you two were decent…clearly you weren’t.” Seunghoon says but Minho knows he’s lying by the twinkle in his eye.

“It’s fine, so you’re Minho’s ex?” Taehyun asks, jumping straight to the point.

Seunghoon’s eyes widen a fraction before he laughs and nods. “Ah, Minho told you about that?”

Taehyun hums as he looks Seunghoon over, “Yeah.”

“You have nothing to worry about, Minho and I have always been friends more than anything.”

“Oh my god…” Minho says to himself and Taehyun is reminded of how he was with his own friends.

Taehyun seems to relax at that. “I don’t doubt it at all,” he smiles at him then looks to Minho and asks, “Where is your bathroom?”

“It’s across the living room first door to the left,” Seunghoon answers before Minho can. “The cabinet on the right is where we have spare toothbrushes.”

“Thanks,” Taehyun mutters and pulls the sweater down a little more, he feels Minho’s hand brush his and looks over his shoulder to smile at him. As he walks past Seunghoon, Haute following close behind him, he realizes the blond is even taller than Minho or himself and silently curses both their heights.

While Taehyun goes to freshen up, Minho looks back to see Seunghoon quietly watching him and frowns. “What do you want?”

“Nothing,” Seunghoon says, observant as always. “It’s just the way you are with him.”

Minho raises a brow, “How am I?”

“Like you’re in love.”

“I think I am.” Minho admits. _I know I am_.

Seunghoon doesn’t seem all that surprise as he takes a sip of his tea. “I do have to say, you sure did pick a fine piece of a man. He’s very cute when he gets red like that! It's a good thing I didn't come to say hi the other night.”

“I knew it! You were trying to take a peek, you ass!”

“Minho, you’re too sensitive. I’m sure Taehyun is aware he’s attractive. I don’t know why you’re mad. 10 out of 10 would bang him too.” He says, not at all shy about anything he just said.

“That sounds fascinating,” Taehyun voice drifts through the room as he enters, not even seeming the least fazed by what he just heard.

Seunghoon just laughs and gives a flirty smile to Taehyun. “Well I guess it’s best I leave. Don’t be a stranger, ‘kay?” Taehyun nods amusingly and then Seunghoon closes the door as he leaves.

Minho throws himself onto the bed and buries his face into his pillow as Taehyun lays down on the bed.

“So,” he starts. “I think I’ve come to a conclusion you may find interesting.”

“What’s that?”

“I have a feeling our friends will get along just fine if they were to ever meet.” Taehyun says and laughs when Minho rolls over on top of him. 

“That was just Seunghoon, you haven’t even met the others. Believe me they are a handful.” Minho huffs and swats at Taehyun’s bare thigh when he lets out another laugh.

“Oh, baby you have no idea what you’re getting into.” Taehyun then drags him down for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest chapter I've written and the reason I took so long to update but hopefully that makes up for it! The next chapter will be the last of the current storyline but there are at least 4 bonus chapters as well.


	10. All I Have to Do Is Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote the last portion of the chapter so please reread again!

**SPRING**

 

 

Minho stands in his closet looking himself over in the full-length mirror, trying to assess whether he likes what he is seeing. Tomorrow he has a runway show to attend and it’s the first time his designs have been selected be on the official lineup for the Spring collection and be publicly displayed. He’s nervous but also excited that his work will be getting recognition and has been trying on different outfits while Taehyun sits on the bed giving his opinion.

 

It’s been a little over four months since they’ve “officially” been dating but it’s been blissful, aside from the little interruptions from their friends. Taehyun had been right when he told Minho that they all would get along well, in fact _too_ well if you ask them. Jinwoo and Seunghoon, as expected, bonded easily while Seungyoon hit it off well with Jiho and even introduced him to couple of other of Minho’s producer friends. Overall it seemed like everyone just fell into step with one another and both Taehyun and Minho were thankful for that.

 

As Minho continues to stare at his reflection he feels good about this one. An all-white suit that’s a tad loose but still fitted in the right places with a thin black belt situated around his waist and his blazer left shirtless underneath. Which lets a nice slip of his bronze chest be exposed and the tattoo he has on the right side of it be slightly visible as well. Of course, he’ll add some accessories like rings and bracelets to bring attention to the little details and style his hair up, but altogether he thinks this will be tomorrow’s outfit. It’s chic yet still holds a classy and professional look, similar to a couple of his designs that will be shown.

 

Looking over to where Taehyun is, Minho walks more forward while raising his arms and does a whole 360 turn so Taehyun can take in his whole appearance. “What do you think?”

 

For the past two hours Taehyun has been watching his boyfriend come to and from the closet with different outfits and explaining to him all the details on whether it was a good choice or not. Taehyun just listened, he didn’t have the heart to tell Minho that he had no idea what he was going on about (apparently asking Minho why a certain stitching or pattern mattered had been a mistake). Still, he let Minho go on about his designs and was proud that his boyfriend’s work would get to be viewed. Minho had been working hard the past 2 months and had poured countless hours into each and every piece of clothing and Taehyun had no doubt tomorrow’s show would be successful and full of praises. However, as Taehyun is just about ready to tell Minho yes just so he can get some sleep he gives him a once over and almost rolls off the bed. All thoughts of complaining are cut off as he stares at his boyfriend.

 

Minho takes in Taehyun’s expression, eyebrows slanting so deep they’re almost touching in the middle of his forehead, eyes scrunched up and lips pursed together. A clear sign of disapproval. Minho drops his shoulders with a sigh, “You don’t like it?”

 

Taehyun realize he let his face show too much and he tries to clear up the mix-up. “It’s not that I don’t like it, you look really good! It’s just...” he trails off as he gestures to Minho’s chest with his hand, lips pursing in annoyance. “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt underneath?”

 

“Huh?” Minho peers down to the little silver of his chest that’s visible, and then it all clicks into place. He tries to hide the smug look that appears on his face but Taehyun catches it and rolls his eyes. “Possessive much?”

 

“It’s not like that...you’re just really attractive…and people will probably be staring at you the whole time," Taehyun says and then adds under his breath, “as if they already aren’t.” Yet Minho still manages to hear and walks over to him. He wraps his arms around Taehyun, letting his hands rest on his hips.

 

“Is somebody jealous then?” Minho teases but really, he will never get used to that idea at all. And coming from someone who is constantly surrounded by models and such, Minho grew accustomed to others coming on to him or throwing him compliments. However, none of that compares to Taehyun and how he views Minho. In Minho’s opinion, Taehyun is the epitome of versatile beauty. With the way he can go from sharp and cold to soft and clingy, everything and more captures Minho entirely.

 

Taehyun rolls his eyes and pushes at Minho to get off the bed but Minho grabs his hand and pulls him back so they’re chest to chest, eyes looking at him heatedly. Warmth spreads through him and he can feel the intended kiss coming. “Minho—" The rest of Taehyun’s words are cut off as Minho cradles Taehyun’s face between his palms and kisses him roughly. Taehyun quickly parts his lips and lets Minho’s tongue enter his mouth eagerly.

 

“You’re an idiot,” Minho pants into his mouth, his eyes fall to Taehyun’s cupid shaped lips, they are a soft rosy pink and he sighs as he gathers the defined angles of the man's face.

 

Taehyun goes to reply, but a whimper cuts him off when Minho’s hands slide down his back to his ass and grip hard. Minho smiles when he feels Taehyun’s quick hands undoing the only two buttons on his blazer and the small belt. He helps by dropping his shoulders back to let the blazer slide from his arms easier as Taehyun pushes at it impatiently.

 

“Take your pants off...don’t wanna ruin them for tomorrow.” He instructs as he chucks off his shirt, a slight flush already appearing on his skin.

 

Minho pauses to look at Taehyun and he can’t stop the grin that forms on his face. “So, does that mean you approve?”

 

“Yes, why wouldn’t I? Now shut up and fuck me.” Taehyun groans, wishing that Minho would hurry up and get naked too so he has something to do with his hands besides squeezing his ass.

 

When they’re both undress, Minho pushes Taehyun back into the mattress as his mouth works down his neck to his chest. Taehyun just makes little noises in the back of his throat, hips bucking and gasping into growls as Minho’s lips and teeth make a tiny trail of marks down his torso. Minho spends an excruciating amount of time teasing his nipples with his teeth, playing with them till they’re overly sensitive and raw.

 

Just as Taehyun feels like he’s close to a dry orgasm, Minho leans back at once, yanking his nipple mercilessly. "Aa-ah!" He cries out, as much from arousal as pain and digs his nails into Minho’s sides. Minho laughs triumphantly, having elicited some sound from the man, and the vibrations of his breath tickles Taehyun’s already-sensitive skin. "Minho," Taehyun chides, though his voice is too hopelessly thick with desire to sound menacing.

 

"Sorry," Minho coos, pressing his face against his boyfriend’s chest. "That was mean, I shouldn't have done that. I'll be gentler, I promise."

 

"Yeah, right," Taehyun mutters under his breath, body shaking at the pleasure from the lingering kisses being placed all over him. Minho moves down to kiss his stomach and sticks his tongue in Taehyun’s belly button to elicit a laugh from him. It’s a surprised and slightly choked laugh but it’s enough, Minho laughs quietly as well and laps at his hipbones. He lets his tongue roam the dips in his skin, and grazes his teeth lightly over the sharp edges. The action makes Taehyun sit right up and shove his hand in Minho’s hair. He pulls him up for a sloppy kiss until they’re both breathless and panting. Minho gives him one final peck before going down to his groin.

 

Swift as ever, he hooks his arms under Taehyun’s thighs and lies him back down, tugging his legs up until they wrap around his neck. Taehyun crosses his ankles tightly, anticipating what’s going to happen. Minho rubs his sides soothingly before settling his hands on the backs of Taehyun’s thighs. He leans down to blow a hot breath on the puckered muscle before prodding at it with his tongue. Taehyun shudders beneath him as Minho continues to lick at his hole. His tongue wiping circles around it before he eases it slowly inside. Taehyun throws an arm over his eyes as his chest heaves and blushes all the way down to his neck. His vision is starting to swim with pleasure. Minho’s tongue is wet and heavy inside of him, thrusting slowly and making him keen for more.

 

Minho then maneuvers them so Taehyun is now sitting in his lap, and kisses first his neck, then the sharp, dramatic angle of his shoulder. Meanwhile Taehyun traces the tattoo on his shoulder with a careful tongue, then the firm promise of his jawline till their lips meet and they share a long, slow and languid kiss. Soft desire comes to drape over their twined bodies, diluted with adoration. The mood shifts however when Minho squeezes Taehyun’s ass before spanking it. Taehyun moans and lurches forward to rest his head on Minho’s shoulder, breath coming out in pants. "Feeling playful?" He asks then lets out a choked gasp as Minho rotates his hips behind his ass and feels the stiff cock behind him, ready to take him. He bites his lip to stop the moans that want to spill out as Minho continues to grind his dick into Taehyun’s ass. Feeling the cheeks spreading slightly, warm and inviting. Minho gazes up at him, the same mischievous grin still plastered on his features and Taehyun’s hands tighten in his hair and lets out a staggered moan.

 

His hands make their way to Taehyun’s ass, grabbing and massaging the toned muscle roughly, while Taehyun has to grasp the kneeling man's shoulders to steady himself, gasping and whimpering at the treatment. He nearly topples over as Minho continues fondling him vigorously. Luckily, Minho steadies him and climbs back up next to Taehyun. "Lube?" He asks at last, his lips brushing against Taehyun ever so softly, teasing the hell out of him.

 

Taehyun tilts his head to the side to indicate it’s on the dresser, thus allowing Minho access to his neck again, lips trailing against the sensitive side. He begins to feel Minho lean away to get the lube from his dresser but Taehyun grabs his wrist and shakes his head. "Ah," Taehyun pauses to clear his throat, "You mind if I suck—"

 

Minho still reaches and drops the lube somewhere on the bed but then yanks Taehyun to him in another passionate kiss. "Fuck, _yes_."

 

They arrange themselves with Taehyun face to face with Minho's cock. He bites his lip again before wrapping his hand around the thick, hot dick and pumping Minho, reveling at how tremulously the sudden friction makes Minho jolt. He presses a gentle kiss to the tip before taking the head into his mouth, swirling his tongue all around the member. He hears Minho's breath hitch as he takes more of his cock further into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down to taste more of him. "Taehyun..." Minho moans, letting his head fall back, brows furrowing in pleasure. Taehyun can feel Minho's cock pulsating against the walls of his cheeks, dangerously close to spilling its load straight into the back of his throat. He slows his pace, bringing his lips away to tease the tip, pausing before returning to suck again.

 

It is all so deliberate, pushing the other to the edge only to withdraw and torment him further. In his impatience, Minho shoots a hand forth to grab a fistful of Taehyun's hair. The younger man gasps sharply when his hair is pulled, suddenly made aware of how painful his own arousal had become. God, it hurt so good. He obeys when Minho directs his movements, letting the firm hand guide his head forward to resume its bobbing motion. His jaw stretches open obediently and Minho thrusts his cock shallowly between his lips. "Ah, fuck, such a hot mouth..." The muscles in Minho's forearms flex as he holds Taehyun's head tightly in place and begins to push his cock into him. He takes more of Minho's dick this time, lowering his lips down farther to the base of his cock as he expertly pushes away his urge to gag and instead hums.

 

Minho's grip slackens, and he moans freely, crooning Taehyun's name as he works his mouth diligently around his cock. He runs his fingers through Taehyun's hair, stroking his head affectionately while his other hand remains firmly rooted to the bedsheets. Taehyun sucks and caresses his member furiously, casting Minho into a frenzy of euphoria as he tugs and laps at his cock without cease. Minho feels the build of his senses overwhelming, helpless to form coherent thoughts as bliss erupts in his mind and blurs his vision. "I-I'm going to, ugh," Taehyun pulls back just before Minho can finish and lowers one of his hands down to tighten on the base of Minho's cock and balls. Minho groans and let's his head fall back, "Fuck me, I was so close."

 

Taehyun leans over Minho and kisses his nose. "Aren't you forgetting something?" His voice is slightly strained, and he can feel Minho’s cock twitch in his hand.

 

"Of course not, c'mere." Minho pulls Taehyun from behind his neck and into his lap, grabbing his ass and spreading the cheeks apart.

 

Minho continues fondling his ass, reaching blindingly with one hand until finally getting a hold of the tube and opening the lube and squeezing a good amount on his fingers. He presses in experimentally against Taehyun’s entrance, easing one finger in and pushing slowly through the taut ring of muscles. Taehyun tenses ever so slightly, his hold on Minho’s shoulders tightening. "Relax," Minho murmurs, giving his boyfriend a series of ardent, encouraging kisses. He slides his finger in and out slowly, working him up to varying speeds. Pushing his middle finger as far as it will go, testing how deep inside he can reach before bringing it back to twist and curl against the walls of flesh. Minho’s free hand eventually makes its way to Taehyun’s long-neglected cock, stroking his erection meticulously while he adds a second finger.

 

Little by little, Taehyun’s entrance swallows his fingers greedily, giving him room to add a third finger. Taehyun lets out a small whimper as he feels himself being stretched, pressing his lips tightly shut only for an even louder sound to tear from his throat as Minho’s fingers brush against his prostate. "Minho!" He yelps, burrowing his face into the other man's neck.

 

"That must feel really good, huh?" Minho goads. Taehyun doesn't reply, instead pressing their lips together. The kiss continues as Minho places his hands on Taehyun’s hips, pushing him forward to get closer to Minho even more. Lifting him up slightly, Taehyun lowers his head to lightly kiss the small mole Minho has on his nose and once he feels the tip of Minho’s cock press against his puckered hole, he moans in between the little space they share as Minho captures his lips. Normally he wouldn't do this without needing the extra bit of lube and more of Minho’s pleasing fingers to get him good and begging. But now he simply doesn’t have the patience. He just wants to get on with it and feel Minho inside of him already. Feel his dick throb and twitch as it slips in and out of him.

 

Slowly Minho inches himself in and Taehyun has to break the kiss just to breathe properly. It is tight and Taehyun tenses up a little bit, but hearing that soft groan tumbling off Minho’s lips just makes it all better. Soon Taehyun is sitting down in Minho’s lap again, thighs touching thighs, cock buried deep inside of him. It twitches and throbs just the way Taehyun likes, maybe even better. Minho’s breathing is labored and the shine in his eyes shows just how turned on he is right now. With a careful lift, Taehyun moves his hips out of Minho’s lap again, letting his length slide out a little before he pushes back down. The friction makes Taehyun’s walls tingle, a pleasant vibe sliding up his spine as he does the same move again, this time with a bit more certainty.

 

The two males find a nice pace, Taehyun bouncing up and down in Minho’s lap. Moans fill the room as Minho’s cock keeps grazing all the right places. Fingers digging deep into the skin of Taehyun’s waist, creating bruises in the process. Waves of pleasure vibrating all throughout Taehyun’s body, pushing him to his limits right where he sits. His own erection bounces between them with the steady pace they both keep, leaking precum all over the front of Minho’s stomach. The red blush that now covers Minho’s cheeks, together with his parted swollen lips, and the half-lidded eyes, makes him even more attractive to Taehyun. And knowing this is caused by him and what they are doing together, makes it better. He kisses Minho again, and again. A short kiss, a long kiss, a passionate kiss, and a sweet kiss. All passes by as Taehyun rides him. Rides him towards heights Minho has never seen before.

 

"Fuck, you're beautiful." Minho says breathlessly and lowers his hands to grip his ass harder. He nibbles at Taehyun’s lips playfully. "You're—amazing...so beautiful, Taehyun...sommph—" Minho is cut off as Taehyun kisses him senseless, hands tangling into his hair.

 

And as the end comes nearer and nearer, the distance closing in, Taehyun throws his head back to moan out freely. He lets Minho’s cock brush up against his prostate with every thrust, stars igniting right in front of his eyes. Almost screaming when Minho starts pumping his cock in time with his thrusting. He is thrown into complete bliss as Minho rubs at his slit with precum and lube coated fingers. Every part of him is on fire. There’s a white-hot coil in stomach ready to burst as he’s rocking his hips against his boyfriend desperately. With one last deep thrust Taehyun comes down hard, his seed splattering all over Minho’s chest as he milks him through his whole orgasm. And at the same time, he is filled with Minho’s cum, a final loud broken groan mixing together with Taehyun’s moan as Minho orgasms as well.

 

When Minho regains control of his breathing, he turns to Taehyun. The other’s eyes are still closed blissfully, and Minho presses a kiss to his forehead. Taehyun’s wonderful eyes open and meet his, a small grin on his face. Minho flips Taehyun onto his back carefully and hooks a leg on his shoulder. "You good to go again?" Taehyun feels his chest rising and falling quickly but he still smiles at Minho and nods.

………….

**SUMMER**

 

 

“Is it too late to turn back?” Taehyun asks from the passenger seat of Minho’s car, shaking his arms out a little to rid himself of the nerves. He has this overwhelming dread seeping throughout his entire chest cavity. This is a whole new kind of fear Taehyun has never felt before.

 

Minho’s eyes are on the road, but he smiles and reaches over to grab Taehyun’s hand. “We're going to be there in 20 minutes and we've been driving for six hours.”

 

"I knew I should have said something when we stopped at that gas station," Taehyun says as he looks out the window at the passing scenery. He can see glimpses of the ocean as it reflects against the moonlight and light poles from the bridge they’re driving on.

 

“You were the one who wanted to come, remember?” Minho chuckles, enjoying Taehyun’s distress. He really didn’t think his boyfriend had anything to worry about, his parents had been looking forward all week for this.

 

“Well yeah, I mean you got to meet my family at my graduation and my mom took us out to dinner on my birthday as well...” He runs a hand through his ash purple hair and grips it tightly as thoughts of proper etiquette started flashing through his head as well as cursing himself for dying his hair this color. What if they think he looks like some kind of punk or something? He shouldn’t have let Minho convince him to do it when his boyfriend has had his hair back to black for some time now. “I just thought it be nice to meet your parents after you mentioned you were heading back home for a week and that your mom asked if I wanted to come.”

 

“And I said you didn’t have to feel pressured,” Minho replies, smiling at the memory of meeting Taehyun’s mom, brother, and grandma. They were very close and reminded him a little of his own family, though his can be a tad bit loud compared to Taehyun’s. Nonetheless, they had been charming to meet and he’s sure he won over Taehyun’s mom after spending an entire afternoon shopping and helping for his birthday.

 

Taehyun chews on his bottom lip and looks back to Minho. “Do you think they’ll like me?” Despite knowing Minho has talked to his parents about them and sent a couple of pictures, he still felt nervous.

 

“They’ll love you, just don’t be worried or put off by how my dad will act.” Minho tells him.

 

“You said that he’s distant at times, right?”

 

“Yeah, he’s kind of always been the silent one but once you get him talking he warms up.” He assures him, squeezing his hand before letting go. “Honestly if my mom had it her way, she’d probably have us stay the whole summer.”

 

Taehyun starts to feel a little calmer and leans his head on the window. "I dunno, that sounds kind of nice," he says quietly. A grin pulls on his face as he remembers that he will be staying at the place where Minho grew up and where they often met up in their dreams.

 

Minho shrugs as he drives, “I guess.” He takes an exit into the town where he lived. “Do you burn easily?”

 

Taehyun laughs lightly and slaps at Minho’s arm as the other chuckles. “Not really, but then again I mostly cover up.”

 

“Well you might wanna dress down, it can get pretty hot if you’re not used to the heat.”

 

“Alright. There anything I shouldn't do?" Taehyun asks, noticing how more houses were coming into view.

 

"Uh…not really much from the usual standards. My parents are pretty laidback so, I think we'll be fine.” Minho answers.

 

"Okay," Taehyun says, they hadn't really prepped for this, but he guesses he’ll wing it. "How much longer?"

 

"10 minutes, give or take.”

 

"Got it," He closes his eyes and tries his best to prepare himself for whatever that is to come.

________

 

When they pull up to the house, Taehyun isn’t all that surprised to find a two-story house with pristine white siding and painted a nice creamy color. The house is well lit and the light coming from the porch gives the place a warm glow all around. "Looks better than my house growing up," Taehyun says but he doesn’t mean much by it. He lived in an apartment in the city, it doesn’t even compare to this beautiful home.

 

"It’s been in my family for years, my parents along with some of my relatives share it. They enjoy taking care of and preserving the place, but they can be a little old fashioned about its appearance," Minho explains.

 

"It’s really nice," Taehyun says as he steps out, grabbing his bag from the back of his seat before going to the trunk to help Minho out with his things.

 

"No, it's fine," Minho holds up his hand as he pulls his suitcase out along with a couple of shopping bags filled with clothes and gifts for his parents. Taehyun nods and waits for him before following him down the walk way and up the front steps. “Wait till you see the patio in the back, the beach isn’t that far from here either.”

 

"I can’t wait,” Taehyun gives Minho a smile but it then slowly slips away as they stand in front of the door. “Do you think it would be weird if we just waited here for a sec?" Taehyun asks. He isn’t used to feeling this nervous and needs to prepare himself before he even takes a step inside.

 

Minho lets the bags slip to the ground with a light thud and lets go of his suitcase, "Hey," He calls out and reaches forward, placing his hands on the sides of Taehyun’s face. "It's going to be fine. We’re in this together, remember?”

 

Taehyun feels the heat creeping up his neck as he stares into Minho’s eyes and he looks down with a dumb smile, "I know," he breathes out before moving to slap at Minho’s hands when he doesn’t release Taehyun’s face and squishes it. "Let go.”

 

“You sure, babe?” Minho moves Taehyun’s head side to side annoyingly. “I could always hold your hand if you want.”

 

Taehyun snorts, "You're lucky that your parents are on the other side of that door or you'd be face down in a giant pile of sand right now.” He mutters.

 

"I doubt it, you look like the type that would bury someone in sand instead,” Minho jokes.

 

"Ooh, that does sounds a lot better. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Taehyun agrees, enjoying the way Minho’s face crinkles as he laughs.

 

“I’m perfectly aware that you are capable of kicking my ass!" Minho says, probably a little louder than he should have. Taehyun chuckles in agreement and Minho uses that moment to catch Taehyun’s lips in a kiss that lasts a few moments too long perhaps. When they pull away Taehyun gives him one of his shy smiles, the kind where his bunny teeth peek out and make Minho’s heart quicken.

 

Taehyun is about to say something snarky in return to Minho when the front door opens. "You're home!" a female voice sounds and Taehyun’s eyes widen.

 

"Mom!” Minho smiles happily and Taehyun feels like burying himself in the sand now. He wonders how much she had seen.

 

"I thought I heard something," She says with a smile matching Minho’s and reaches forward to gather him in her arms. Taehyun instantly forgets his embarrassment because of the very sweet scene in front of him. Minho is a lot taller than his mom, yet he leans down to let her wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly. She pats him on the back lovingly before pulling away and leaning up for a kiss, but Minho moves aside with an embarrassed laugh.

 

“Minho, aren’t you forgetting something?” She asks knowingly, trying to kiss him again.

 

“Ah, mom please...” he tries to duck away but gives in as Taehyun watches with a wide smile, finding it both endearing and funny.

 

After Minho gives his mom a small peck, he puts an arm around Taehyun’s shoulders and brings him forward. “Mom, this is Taehyun.”

 

"Taehyun…" She tests his name out before her eyes widen and Taehyun feels the weight of her gaze on him. He wishes he had worn a cap to at least cover his hair a bit.

 

"It's good to finally meet you, Mrs. Song, I've heard a lot about you," Taehyun gives a respective bow and offers his hand out for a handshake but she pushes it away.

 

"Oh nonsense, bring it in!” She says with a bright smile and steps forward, enveloping Taehyun in a warm hug. “It’s nice to meet you too! And you can just call me Jihyo. My son sure has been taken by you and I don’t blame him, you are quite the beauty!”

 

Taehyun’s stumbles a bit into the hug, his brain ceasing function for a long moment as his arms hang at his side. He can hear Minho trying to suppress a laugh. "T-Thank you," he murmurs quietly before he finally manages to jumpstart his brain enough to rest his arms on her back and fully embrace her. For some odd reason it feels so familiar and safe that he easily relaxes into it.

 

Jihyo pulls back and smiles up at Taehyun and he mirrors it. "Come inside, love, let's get you settled in," She says grasping his arm and tugs him inside.

 

Minho grabs his bags and hauls them over his shoulder as he reaches for the suitcase and steps in as well, closing the door behind him. He looks around the place and smiles to himself, happy to be home once again and happy to have Taehyun with him this time.

 

"Come, let's put your things down, dinner is almost ready," She says not letting go as she leads him down the hall, Taehyun wonders how she can do and say things so gently and still manage to manipulate him into doing what she wants him to. He looks over his shoulder at Minho who just smirks at him.

 

"Okay," he says as he follows her, all too surprised when she brings him to what doesn’t look like a guest room to him. There were posters everywhere, books and comics filling the shelves and a few pictures scattered around along with sketches ranging from detailed sceneries to colorful caricatures. It actually isn't too different from his own place, minus some of the super hero figures and space-related things.

 

"Come now, you can leave your things here," She gestures as Minho walks past her and sets his bag down on the bed…that's why it doesn’t look like a guest room. He is going to be sharing the room with Minho this whole week.

 

Taehyun quickly turns back to her, ready with an excuse that he doesn’t mind staying in another room, but she places her hand on his face, and he doesn’t have the heart to say no. He recognizes something in Minho’s mom that reminds him of his own mother. Their personalities aren’t the same from what Minho told him, but there is something.

 

She lowers her hand and smiles at him. “I'll go finish dinner before your father ruins it," She says, looking to Minho and then turns and shows herself out. “Make yourself comfortable, Taehyun!”

 

When the door closes, Taehyun looks back to Minho with an unasked question. “Sorry I didn’t tell you, but they insisted we stay in the same room. My aunt and cousins are also coming to visit as well, and I guess she thought it would be better if we stayed together.”

 

“It’s fine,” Taehyun says and plops down on his bed, looking around the place with a smile. He leans back on his arms and watches Minho as he moves around, unpacking some of his things and putting them in his dressers. “Do you think your mom needs any help in the kitchen?”

 

Minho yanks his shirt off and puts on another from inside a dresser that has a lot of stickers all over it. “Uh, you can try but she probably will kick you out and send you back here.”

 

"I think I will, enjoy unpacking," Taehyun says as he stands, hearing Minho snort as he steps out of the room. He feels a little awkward in the house, losing his direction for a moment before deciding to follow the sounds toward the kitchen. When he finally finds it he ducks his head around the corner to see Minho’s mom tending to the stove. "Hi, I was wondering if you might need some help?"

 

Jihyo stands up straight and looks at him over her shoulder and smiles in a kind manner. "You don't have to worry yourself, Taehyun," She says.

 

"It's fine, really I want to." Taehyun waves his hand and she nods acceptingly, suggesting he set the table. As Taehyun heads to the dining room he looks at the six chairs and he tips his head, wondering where he will be better off putting the plates and settles for taking the middle chairs instead of the end ones.

 

"I sit here," comes a deep voice and Minho’s father steps into the room while clearing his throat.

 

"Oh, I can fix that," Taehyun says, silently thanking himself for not screaming at his sudden appearance and instead puts on a polite smile as he places a plate on the end where the man had gestured to.

 

"So, you must be Taehyun, Minho’s mentioned you quite a lot over the past few months," he talks as he moves his hand to adjust a fork before he observes it and leaves it where Taehyun had placed it. "But if I’m not mistaken you and Minho have been acquainted for a long time, yes?"

 

Taehyun pauses for a moment as he tries to register what Minho’s dad means by that. "Ah, I guess so. I never thought of it that way before," he answers with brief smile. "Not to say that I think that time was insignificant, just that, we spent more time talking...from a screen than face to face.”

 

The man looks at him quietly and he nods before he walks forward and taps the table, "It goes here,” he gestures to another spot at the table pointlessly since it was obvious Taehyun would have set it down there eventually.

 

"Thank you…" Taehyun can feel his heart race a little faster at the pressure as he lowers the plate down.

 

"We haven't been properly introduced, that's rude of me. My name is Jaewoon, please feel free to call me as such," He holds out his hand.

 

"Taehyun," he introduces himself and takes the hand, receiving a firm shake.

 

"Honey, would you mind fetching Minho," Jihyo’s voice comes from the hallway where she is bringing the food out.

 

"I can go," Taehyun says, dipping his head before he heads down the hall while Jaewoon nods and moves to help relocate everything to the dining room. Taehyun walks swiftly down the hall and when he gets to Minho’s room he closes the door behind him and leans on it, letting the breath he was holding out.

 

"Everything alright?" Minho asks as he looks up from what he is doing.

 

"Your dad is scary," Taehyun whispers loudly.

 

"He's not going to do anything," Minho says with a laugh.

 

"No, I know. He just appeared out of nowhere. I just need a sec to recollect myself," Taehyun breathes out. "Dinner's ready though."

 

"We better get down there then, don’t want to keep them waiting," Minho moves to step out of the room but Taehyun stops him.

 

"You told him about us knowing each other?" He asks.

 

Minho pauses for a long moment and then smiles sheepishly at him, “Kind of, it was really vague," he admits.

 

"I think that maybe we need to talk about how we tell people…I mean, just so we're not contradicting what we’re saying. I told my mom that we knew each other for some time but not like from our past.”

 

“I guess that’s true. It'd be really confusing if you're like, okay so we met in an art gallery once upon a time and then I was like, well I went hang gliding this one year with P.O and there was this hot—"

 

"—Are you done?" Taehyun cuts him off, not looking the least bit impressed.

 

"Yeah," Minho gives him a goofy grin and runs his fingers through his hair. Taehyun is glad Minho finally let his hair get some rest from all that dying. He missed Minho’s black mane.

 

“So, what exactly did you tell your parents? Just so I know in case they ask.”

 

"We met at the park when we were ten or eleven. Your family had a vacation spot near here, so I'd see you during the summer time in the following years…and then we eventually kept contact through cell phones. My parents know we lost contact…so that's a thing," Minho says.

 

"How would they know we lost contact?" He questions, Minho sounds like he had thought about this a lot. Taehyun admittedly never thought he would have to explain how they met outside of the normal occurrences that other couples probably went through.

 

"I may have mentioned you when we were in high school at some point. That's why my dad was talking to you about us meeting before. I haven't said anything to my mom more than what she forced out of me, so he has to remember from back then," Minho shrugs.

 

"When…we were in high school?" Taehyun frowns confusedly, he can understand Minho saying they had met as kids but bringing him up during high school was odd.

 

"Yes," Minho says, doing the thing he does when he is trying to end a conversation. The tone of his voice suggests he isn’t going to say any more on the matter.

 

"You're not telling me something, but I'm going to drop it until after dinner," Taehyun tells him quietly.

 

"I will, now let’s go," Minho promises, pressing a kiss to his forehead and then stepping out of the room.

________

 

“So, Taehyun, tell me what do you do? Minho mentioned that you recently graduated college.” Minho’s mom says as she eats.

 

Taehyun looks up from his plate. “Oh, I used to work at a bar but currently I’m interning at an entertainment company and hopefully can become a music producer. I really like making songs and the whole production to creating music is something I’m very interested in. One of my friends wants to make it as a singer so we have been working together in producing and writing music.”

 

“Taehyun is also in a band, they’re really good and I think you would like his voice, it has a nice flow and when he sings, it’s like velvet.” Minho adds in between bites. Taehyun feels his face getting red at his boyfriend’s compliments and hits Minho under the table to stop him from saying anything more. Minho just smiles at him, cheeks big from the mouthful of food he’s eating.

 

“Finish your food before speaking, Minho,” His mom tells him but then faces back to Taehyun with a grin. “A band? That must be fun, what are you called?”

 

“South Club.” Taehyun says timidly. Minho watches amusingly, he’s not used to seeing Taehyun act this way, but he imagines that Taehyun is trying very hard not to embarrass either of them in front of his parents.

 

“Ah, because you are South?” She jokes, implicating at the meaning of his name and Taehyun smiles with a nod.

 

Minho’s dad chuckles at that and it catches all their attention. “That is a subtle way of naming a band.”

 

“Thank you, sir.” Taehyun says sheepishly.

 

“Do you have any videos of you performing? I would love to hear!” His mom asks and Taehyun goes to answer but Minho is already handing his phone over to her and directing her to a folder filled with videos.

 

“Just swipe to watch the others, some are live so sorry for the sound but the ones of him in a studio have better quality.” He says with a proud smile and Taehyun decides to just stay quiet and hope his face isn’t as pink as he feels it is.

 

“Honey get closer,” his mom beckons her husband and he leans over to watch as well. As they watch a couple of Taehyun’s performances, making appraising noises here and there, Taehyun looks over to Minho who is back to stuffing his face. Minho catches his gaze and gives him a big grin, cheeks full and eyes shaping into crescents.

 

Any other day Taehyun probably would have rolled his eyes but instead he just offers a smile of his own and returns his attention back to Minho’s parents when his mom asks him a question.

 

After some time, she hands Minho his phone back as she talks to Taehyun. “I would really love to see you perform one day, that last song, what was it called?”

 

“Baby Baby.”

 

“Yes, that one!” She gives him a thumbs up in approval, “It’s really beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a song quite like that before.”

 

Taehyun smiles bashfully and tips his head. “Thank you, it’s not finished yet. I still need to adjust a few things but I’m happy you like it.”

 

“Taehyun works really hard at what he does,” Minho jumps in as well, resting his head on Taehyun’s shoulder and smiling up appreciatively at his boyfriend.

 

“It looks like it,” Minho’s dad agrees and while Taehyun may not know his dad like Minho does, he can see that he’s impressed at what he saw. “It’s not just about the talent, but ambition too.”

 

“I think that’s true. I’ve always felt passionate about interpreting how I feel through music, and regardless of making any income off it, it’s always good to just be able to express myself and take the risk no matter how uncertain it may be. Better to try than live with the regret of never doing.” Taehyun says thoughtfully.

 

His dad nods in agreement and gives Taehyun his first genuine smile. “You have a good sense in you, I hope it rubs off on my son.” Minho picks his head up from Taehyun’s shoulder and gawks at his dad while his mom and Taehyun chuckle.

 

“Dad!”

 

“Don’t deny it Minho, it’s nice to see someone tame your clumsy heart,” His mom says to him. “I swear that boy spent most of his time just dreaming away.” Taehyun turns to Minho amusingly and feels his lips twitch as they share a look with each other.

 

“So, what about your family?” Minho’s dad asks, bringing Taehyun’s attention back.

 

“Oh, my mom is a nurse and takes care of my grandma at home, and my younger brother will be entering college this fall.”

 

“And your father, dear?” He hears his mom say.

 

Taehyun takes a moment to respond and Minho is about to step in and change the subject but Taehyun manages to beat him. “Ah, he’s not really involved in our lives.”

 

Minho is pressed right beside him and clasps his hand with Taehyun’s under the table, giving him reassurance in case he needs it. However, Taehyun seems to look okay to him as he keeps his eyes on him.

 

“Oh, I see, I’m sorry to bring that up.” His mom apologizes but Taehyun shakes his head.

 

“It’s okay, it doesn’t really matter to me.” And while his parents may just accept that as is, Minho knows how much it affected Taehyun when he was young but that no longer seems to be the case and he’s glad for it.

 

They fill the rest of dinner with various stories of Minho’s youth and even share some photo albums much to Minho’s protest. Taehyun doesn’t think he’s ever smiled so much as he watches the way Minho interacts with his family and just how close they are.

 

When everyone is finally finished Minho steps inside the kitchen while Taehyun heads up to his room to unpack his own things. "Hey, let me help you with the dishes," Minho says with a smile to his mom as he sees her putting the leftovers away.

 

His mom looks as if she is about to protest but gives when he pouts at her. “Alright, but I don’t want to hear you complain.”

 

Minho nods with a laugh and stands beside her as she starts to wash and hands a towel to Minho for him to dry the dishes.

 

“So...” he begins after a while. His mom looks up to him and simply smiles, understanding what her son is asking.

 

“We like him. He’s very lovely, a tad shy but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.” She then sighs disappointedly. “It’s a shame that you’re only staying for a week.”

 

Minho lets out a breath he feels like he’s been holding since they got here and hums back in reply. “Sorry, I promise we’ll try to visit more since it’s the summer, and you guys could always come out to see us too. Can catch one of Taehyun’s performances and see him live for yourself.”

 

She agrees happily at that and they continue to do the dishes with small talk till his mom remembers something. “Oh, there was something I noticed throughout and even after dinner.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“The way you’re constantly touching him, and the way he responds to your touches...you may think this is silly of me to say but it’s almost as if you’re afraid he’ll disappear.” She chuckles to herself, still washing dishes and not noticing Minho stopping and considering her words.

 

He blinks and he looks down to the plate he’s finished drying before placing it up in the cupboard. “He did once, but now I don’t plan on letting go and I don’t think he does either.”

 

His mom looks up at him and even though she may not know exactly what Minho means by that she still nods. “Well I’m glad you two were able to be reunited again. He’s good for you and you’re good for him.”

 

“Yeah? I think so too.” Minho admits with a shy smile.

 

“Now go back to your room, I’m sure your tired from that long drive. I can finish the rest.” His mom shoos him away despite his protests and Minho hugs her tightly and presses a kiss to her cheek before heading upstairs.

________

 

Minho steps into his room and Taehyun immediately turns around from where he is changing.

 

“Ever heard of knocking? Jeez you almost gave me a heart attack.” Taehyun grumbles as he brushes his hair away from his face and adjusts his sweater.

 

“Sorry, and by all means please continue.” Minho says as he lays down on his bed. Appreciating Taehyun’s pale thighs as he bends down to look for some pants.

 

Taehyun looks over his shoulder and rolls his eyes. “Don’t you even think about that, we are literally 3 rooms away from your parents. I don’t plan to leave a bad impression on them by fooling around with their boy under the same roof.”

 

“You have nothing to worry about. They like you.” Minho feels the bed dip as Taehyun gets on and climbs on top of him.

 

“How do you figure that?” He asks, doubt in his voice.

 

Minho smiles and places his hands on Taehyun’s waist as he sits up straighter. “I've got a feeling," he shrugs and Taehyun scoffs, moving to get off him but Minho holds him tighter, “Oh, and my mom might have said something."

 

Taehyun feels a massive tension leave his body at that and runs his fingers through Minho’s hair. “As much as I want to disagree, I believe you.”

 

“Does this mean we can fool around?” Minho raises his eyebrows suggestively and Taehyun throws his head back as he laughs.

 

“Ah, I dunno...I'm exhausted, maybe a rain check?”

 

Minho pouts up at him. “I can be quiet.”

 

“I’m sure you can but too bad, I totally would have loved to ruin this bed," Taehyun jokes and pushes Minho’s hair back, combing it over his ears and smoothing it down while admiring the length. "You need a haircut," he murmurs.

 

"My mom said the same thing…" Minho frowns.

 

“I could always give you a trim.”

 

“As long as it’s not some weird mullet or you shave half my head off, then sure.”

 

Taehyun chuckles to himself before deciding to get back up, "Bathroom?"

 

“Across the hall.” Minho says and reaches for his journal to write in for the night.

 

Taehyun nods in thanks and grabs his bag of bathroom products. As he steps out of the room he glances both ways before dashing across the hall into the bathroom. When he finishes he exits and is about to head back into Minho’s room when he hears a deep voice call out his name and almost jumps.

 

“Taehyun.”

 

Turning around, he sees Minho’s dad at the end of the hall and bows politely at him. Their eyes meet, and the older man beckons him over and Taehyun’s stomach drops. His head in in full panic now, screw whatever Minho said about them liking him. He is done, he has no idea what Minho’s dad wants but now he’s seriously beginning to regret not staying home.

 

"Yes?" He says when he reaches the end of the hall, thanking himself that his voice came out steady.

 

"Walk with me," He says in his deep voice and heads toward the living room.

 

"Sure," Taehyun agrees quietly.

 

"Take a seat," He says once they reach the living room, so Taehyun does. He sits at the edge of one of the chairs and he keeps his hands on his knees.

 

"Don't misunderstand," Jaewoon begins as he clears his throat. “I just want to talk to you in private without my son or wife interfering.”

 

“Sir?”

 

“Minho has spoken with me a few times about you while he was in high school and even more now since you two started dating. Quite honestly, I do believe you hold a fair amount of influence on my son. I just want to know what kind of person you are to leave such an impact on him for so long.”

 

Taehyun is taken aback by what Jaewoon is saying. He flexes his fingers and let’s let out a breath, "I’m not exactly sure what you want to know...”

 

“You’re the first person my son has ever brought home to us and yet I can see how much the two of you affect each other. Both my wife and I agree that we’ve never seen a couple look like they never want to part. It’s interesting to say the least.”

 

He feels himself grow warm and doesn’t know if that should be considered a good thing or bad. “Ah...I know it hasn't been very long since we’ve been together," Taehyun admits, even though the length of their relationship didn't seem applicable to conventional dating stereotypes. “And I know that people usually wait to make sur—"

 

"—And are you sure?" Jaewoon stares at him and Taehyun stares at his hands.

 

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," Taehyun says as he tips his chin up to look the man in the face. Minho is the only thing that has always made sense in his life, and Taehyun isn’t afraid to deny that anymore. “I don’t know whether to call it fate, coincidence, or sheer blind luck, but meeting your son under the strangest circumstances and getting to know him has made me feel more alive than I can honestly say. Sometimes you meet someone, and it’s so clear that the two of you, on some level belong together. As lovers, or as friends, or as family, or as something entirely different. You just work, and that’s exactly how I feel with Minho.”

 

His dad watches him with an unreadable expression before standing. “He probably never mentioned this but when...,” he pauses to clear his throat again. “When his sister died, Minho really took it the hardest. He would often wake up screaming or crying and didn’t want to leave his bedroom for days,” he confesses. “It wasn’t easy on any of us, but I never thought I’d see the day where my son looks as happy as he did with you beside him tonight.”

 

Taehyun watches as Jaewoon looks at the photos of Danah hung up near the fireplace and feels his throat constrict. Although Minho’s dad knows Taehyun wasn’t around when she passed, Taehyun did witness first hand Minho’s grief and was there for him throughout it. “No, he hasn’t... but he talks about her a lot and I know how much he loved her and what she means to him.”

 

“I’m sorry for dragging you out here like this but hearing for myself how much you love Minho...I can see that you make my boy happy,” Jaewoon says and then turns back to Taehyun, a small tear sliding down his cheek that he quickly wipes away. “That’s all I ever wanted him to be. I hope he does the same for you.”

 

“He does.” Taehyun says sincerely. “I’ve never felt more certain with anything than I have with your son.”

 

Jaewoon nods with a satisfied smile and walks over to Taehyun, clasping his shoulder and giving him a firm squeeze. “I don’t know what your life was like growing up, but I want you to know you have us and not just Minho to rely on now.” He then leaves the room. "Have a good sleep, son."

 

Taehyun sits in the chair for a moment longer, his throat dry. He looks around the living area, everything seems to be in place. Even the family photos seemed staged, but Taehyun can sense the real concern his parents have for Minho. He is glad that Minho has people that love him so much. He feels a sting at the back of his eyes and runs his hands over his face before he leans back on the couch. Not even realizing he’s crying until he finally stands and feels wet tears trail down his face. He wipes at them and heads back to the room, making sure to turn the lights off on his way there. Taehyun opens the door to Minho’s room only to find his boyfriend now doodling in his notebook.

 

“That was a long time for you to be in the bathroom, did you get stuck in—" Minho pauses for a moment when he sees the puffiness around Taehyun’s eyes and immediately crosses the room to cup his face in his hands. “Hey, what’s wrong?” The concern in his tone is clear and Taehyun can feel fresh tears falling down his face.

 

Taehyun shakes his head and brings a hand up to wipe at his eyes but Minho grabs his hand and pulls Taehyun into a hug instead. “Are you okay?

 

“Yeah,” Taehyun says as he buries his face into the side of Minho’s neck. “Talked to your dad.”

 

Minho moves to pull away but Taehyun grips him tighter, preventing him from moving. Understanding, Minho stops and just rubs his lower back comfortingly. “What did he talk to you about?”

 

“Nothing bad,” he sniffles.

 

“It has to be, you’re crying!”

 

“No, I mean it. Your dad is great, and you should be proud to have someone like him in your life. Your parents are wonderful, Minho, really they are.” Taehyun leans back and looks Minho in the eyes, giving him a watery smile. He’s sure his face is getting blotchy from all the crying, but he doesn’t care.

 

Minho seems to accept it as is and presses their foreheads together. “You gonna tell me what happened?”

 

Taehyun bites the corner of his lips and closes his eyes. “We just talked about you, what you mean to me and if I make you happy. I think he gave me his approval...”

 

“Shouldn’t that be a good thing?” Minho asks confusedly.

 

“I got really emotional, okay?” Taehyun says, growing frustrated which Minho finds adorable.

 

“Nam Taehyun, is this your way of saying you love me?”

 

“You already know I do dummy,” he leans in to kiss Minho but the other moves to the side, causing Taehyun to kiss his cheek instead.

 

“Uh, huh. I need to hear it.” Minho smirks at him, laughing when Taehyun keeps trying to peck him and missing.

 

Taehyun makes a noise of complaint at the back of his throat and tilts his head up to Minho, letting his hair cover some of his eyes and lips pouting just enough to make Minho forget to move away and allowing Taehyun to kiss him. “I love you.” He says, letting his lips linger against Minho’s for a moment longer before pulling away.

 

Minho smiles satisfyingly, “I love you too.”

 

He rests his head on his shoulder and sighs. “I’m sorry for worrying you, it hasn’t even been a full day and I’m sure you’re tired. We should sleep.”

 

"Taehyun it’s fine. Besides, I was going to show you some of my art before we went to bed, I’ve been looking through a couple of my old sketches and there is one particular,” Minho says and brings Taehyun to his desk. “Here it is," he says as he reveals the large canvas.

 

Taehyun recognizes it instantly to the point that he is absolutely stunned. He walks forward silently, and he moves to touch the canvas but stops himself and lets his hand fall to his sides. "This is…"

 

"Yep, it is," Minho confirms from beside him.

 

"It looks just like it," Taehyun mumbles, remembering the dreamscape filled with cadmium colors…he still remembers the fear he felt as a child before he stumbled into Minho’s world. Escaping from the nightmare he thought his life had been. His fingers move to the bottom corner where the dark muddy colors rested and among the teal trees there were two ambiguous figures together with their hands linked as they head to where the ocean is, it was them.

 

"Yeah, the uh, the project was on dreams," Minho admits, rubbing the back of his neck as he continues. “I first thought about bullshitting it and doing something easy but...this just made more sense to me at the time.”

 

"I thought you were the dumbest person I had ever met…" Taehyun says quietly, eyes still admiring the canvas in front of him. Remembering back to the time when they were just friends, when they had no idea if the other existed. It all seems so distant now.

 

Minho laughs as he sits down on his bed, flicking through one of his sketch books, "I thought you were too prissy…well your kind of still are," he muses.

 

Taehyun turns around and flicks his forehead. “Shut it.”

 

“I’m only kidding, just in the mornings.” They both share a laugh and Minho stops on a page he drew of them lying on the river bank in the forest. Thinking back to when they would spend countless times talking about everything.

 

“Hey Minho,” Taehyun says, bringing Minho’s attention back to him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Thanks for showing me this.” He really appreciates what Minho is doing by sharing this with him.

 

"No worries, there's more over on the shelf there if you want to poke around. I think you’ll like the ones in color the most," he says with a wide smile.

 

"Alright," Taehyun walks over to the shelving unit where there were several edged in black making the colored ones stick out. His fingers rest on the canvas frames and he tips them as he looks through and pulls one out of a silver bell. Taehyun remembers Minho always saying he would hear a bell whenever he was around and looks over his shoulder to take a peek at Minho. Minho is talented when it comes to drawing, there is no doubt about it. Taehyun can see echoes of their dreams in the other pieces and spends some time looking at all of them, recalling their past and the moments they spent together in their dreams. When he is done he goes back to the bed where Minho has been laying down for some time and slips under the covers, adjusting them a little more and feeling Minho’s presence over him.

 

Minho wraps an arm around his waist and Taehyun gets more comfortable as they settle into bed. “Kick me in your sleep Minho, and I'm going to kick you back," He mutters.

 

"Who pushed who off whose bed the other week?" Minho snorts. “Do you want me to remind you about the time you swung at me to?”

 

"Details, who needs them? Do it and you're dead," he says poking at Minho’s side and Minho just chuckles from behind him.

 

"Okay, okay," he gives in.

 

Taehyun smiles and decides to close his eyes, "Night.”

 

“Taehyun,” Minho calls out and Taehyun hums, eyes still closed. “I heard if you fall asleep holding hands with someone, you share the same dream.”

 

Taehyun laughs at that, he reaches for Minho’s hand on his side and grasps it gently. Turning to look at the other man, his other hand moves to the side of his face. “As if we haven’t already?”

 

Minho covers Taehyun’s hand with his own and leans down to kiss him. They linger in that embrace for a while until Taehyun turns more to his side, hand still holding Minho’s. “Goodnight.”

 

“Night.”

________

 

Taehyun wakes up the next morning to the feeling of Minho pressing kisses against the nape of his neck and shoulders. He moans appreciatively and stretches, “Minho?" His sleep stricken voice sounds as he rolls over to look at his boyfriend while rubbing the sleep away from his eyes.

 

"Shh…" Minho murmurs quietly.

 

“What are you—" his words are caught by Minho’s lips as he leans in for a kiss. His left hand softly trailing through the tangles in Taehyun’s messy purple-ish hair. Soon Taehyun is reaching over to wrap his arm around his waist. Minho responds by sliding his hand down from Taehyun’s hair to cup his cheek, caressing it with his thumb.

 

“What’s this all about?” Taehyun asks in a breathy voice between kisses.

 

Minho smiles against his lips, humming, “I was just waking you up.”

 

Taehyun breaks away, resting his forehead against Minho’s. The bare skin of his chest and shoulders, the blue sheets draped haphazardly around them, the very air they are pulling into their lungs—it all glows a faint gold, as though everything in the room has soaked up the first rays of the rising sun. Their noses are inches apart, and Taehyun’s smile grows ever so slightly. “Hm, what time is it?”

 

“Early enough,” Minho answers and pulls him into another kiss, this time leading their lips in a faster, deeper rhythm. Taehyun blinks in surprise, his heart fluttering for a moment, then closes his eyes and lets himself melt into the kiss. Minho’s hand travels to secure a grip around his waist, and he bites more and more at Taehyun’s bottom lip, tracing it eagerly with his tongue.

 

Taehyun feels his face flushing as a thrill rushes through his body. Minho pressing eagerly against him, tracing every inch of his mouth and neck with his lips all the way down to the hollow of his throat, where he lingers enough to make Taehyun’s toes curl. One hand shifts so that his fingers can trace patterns on Taehyun’s stomach, wandering in and out of the waistband of his boxers. Taehyun sighs in pleasure and is about to tilt his head to the side to allow more room when he feels the other tugging on his boxers and he remembers just where they are.

 

“Stop!” He sits up, pushing Minho off him. “We’re not going to have sex in your parents’ home!” Taehyun whispers loudly as he grabs Minho’s hands and pulls them away, his breath coming out unevenly.

 

Minho makes a noise of complaint and picks his head up to look at Taehyun. “We aren’t, I just want to suck you off, please?”

 

“Minho, you have glow in the dark stars hanging on your ceiling and you’re asking to blow me?!” He tries to shove Minho off but the other throws himself over Taehyun dramatically.

 

“Please! It’s too early for anyone else to be awake, and I’ll make sure to be quiet!”

 

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Taehyun sighs, rubbing at his temples as he wonders what is seriously wrong with his boyfriend.

 

“Does that mean I can?” Minho asks, looking at Taehyun hopefully. He knows Taehyun isn’t upset at him when he leans their foreheads together and breathes in deeply. Minho smiles and runs his right hand through Taehyun’s hair, tucking a piece behind his ear before cupping his face and bringing their lips close together, kissing him softer this time.

 

Taehyun kisses back with the same amount of feeling. Moving his hands to hold on lightly to Minho’s waist and feels his anger dissipate into the kiss. His grip tightens when Minho moves down to start necking him. He lets out a breathy moan causing Minho to smile slightly against his neck. Minho sucks on it gently for a while, but hell, Taehyun’s skin is soft enough and pale enough for it to mark. He gives his neck one last peck before making his way up the Taehyun’s jawline, then his chin, then back to his mouth where Taehyun’s lips cling onto his. When they break the kiss, Minho breathes against Taehyun’s ear and says, “Let me.”

 

Taehyun looks at him and narrows his eyes slightly before mumbling, “Fine…” knowing he’ll regret this later but for now he’ll let Minho have this.

 

Minho cheers silently to himself and sits back on Taehyun’s thighs. Appraising him with a gaze so full of desire that Taehyun feels his heart stutter and his cheeks start to burn. And that’s when Minho smirks, his eyes betraying his triumph, and begins trailing kisses all the way down Taehyun’s body. He outlines every curve and contour of Taehyun’s chest with his lips, lingering to suck at his nipples and grinning his self-satisfied grin at the way it makes Taehyun’s breath catches. His hands work their way slowly down his sides, and when he reaches his waist, they make quick work of his boxers. Minho looks up, then, and the hungry, almost predatory edge to his expression causes a growing wave of heat to crash over Taehyun.

 

“Ready?”

 

“Now’s not the time for—” Taehyun chokes on the rest of his sentence. The desire coiling at the pit of his stomach springs into a crescendo as Minho wastes no time in grabbing his cock and with a few practiced strokes has Taehyun shivering with pleasure. He bites his lip, holding back a groan, and starts to thread his fingers through Minho’s long, messy black hair.

 

Minho just smirks at the strain on his face and gently guides his legs apart, ducking between them. He starts at the balls and slowly, agonizingly working his way up to the tip, licking and sucking with devastating precision the whole way. Taehyun can feel himself unraveling, losing control of himself more and more with every little flick of Minho’s tongue that causes the aching desire in his erection to flare almost unbearably. He pants, gasping, and stuttering, but somehow manages to bite back all the moans that burst to life behind his lips. Holding them in, swallowing hard and throwing his head back.

 

“C’mon,” Minho urges, practically cooing, “let me hear you.”

 

“M-Minh…o” he groans, his fingers digging into his boyfriend’s scalp a little tighter and making Minho whine at the pressure. “Hnnn…don’t push it.”

 

“Okay, sorry.” He apologizes by licking the base of his cock. Minho then takes the whole length into his mouth; well at least as much as he can before the tip hits the back of his throat and fills his mouth with a pulsing heat. Taehyun’s hands tighten in his hair and releases a staggered moan. Minho moves a hand down to jerk himself off in the meantime. He licks at every inch of skin on Taehyun’s cock, letting his tongue dance on the crown and slide easily along the slit.

 

Taehyun breathes a staccato “Oh…fuck… Minho…” when Minho moves his mouth to the base of his cock and teases the skin near his opening.

 

Minho starts sucking, then, taking more of Taehyun into his mouth at a quick but carefully controlled pace. Taehyun has to bite his lip hard to stop from crying out, pleasure burning at the edges of his mind, filled with breathy moans. The only thought he can form with any semblance of coherency is Minho’s name, uttered each time with growing urgency but to absolutely no avail. Minho’s head keeps bobbing at the same speed no matter what he does, and his frustration only makes his skin feel hotter. Before long, he feels ready to burst.

 

“Hang on,” he gasps, his hips bucking desperately off the mattress, “I’m going to—”

 

Minho pauses to grab his waist with his hands and holds him back down in place. Enjoying the contrast of his tanned hands over Taehyun’s smooth pale body. “Not yet.”

 

Taehyun lets out a low whimper, resisting the urge to squirm as his entire body burns. “Minho please—”

 

Minho swallows his cock down as his other hand moves to stroke the base in time with the movement of his lips. Taehyun is a panting, shaking mess, and he can feel his world beginning to spill over the edge.

 

He moans lowly as he thrusts into Minho’s hand, back sinking into the damp sheets and hands desperately pulling Minho even closer, his heart exploding into overtime with the thought that this will never end, that he will be stuck on the brink of release forever because Minho won’t _let_ him come, won’t allow him to just because he can do whatever he wants—but soon his hips jerk as he rides the sensation out and comes.

 

Pleasure overwhelms all his other senses in a moment of complete blissful chaos, his back arching as he whispers Minho’s name in a breathless moan. Minho in turn swallows everything down before picking his head up and smiling at Taehyun. Taehyun, still trying to catch his breath, pats the side of the bed and Minho catches his cue. He moves up to embrace Taehyun and lets him jerk him off to return the favor. Minho kisses him just before he orgasms and moans into his mouth when he does.

 

When the stars have cleared from his vision and the pleasure in his entire body has subsided to a gentle hum, Minho collapses on top of Taehyun, breathing hard. Smiling as he looks up at Taehyun from where his cheek rested on his chest. “See, told you we could be quiet.”

 

Taehyun smiles back at him just before smacking the back of Minho’s head.

 

“Ow! What was that for?” He cries in pain, rubbing his head.

 

“You’re heavy, move off me jerk.” Taehyun says but pecks his forehead in apology.

 

Minho mutters something incoherent and then there is a knock on the door, "Is everything alright in there?" it’s Minho’s mom.

 

"Yeah, Taehyun is just bullying me," Minho calls out.

 

"I am not, you ass! You know I'm not afraid to hit you in your parent's house, so quit complaining, you deserved that!" Taehyun growls out and Minho just covers his hand to keep from laughing at his spitfire of a boyfriend.

 

"I see…" there is a hint of amusement in her tone. "I’m going to start making breakfast, so come out when your ready boys," she says and walks away.

 

"You just threatened me sort of in front of my mom," Minho bursts out laughing, smile spreading wide across his face.

 

Taehyun tries to ignore the way his face reddens at the realization and instead grabs the pillow beside him and hits Minho with it. They end up in a weird wrestling match until Minho manages to pin Taehyun back down to the mattress.

 

“You’ve been working out?” Taehyun asks, voice coming out a little breathless, and he isn’t sure if it’s from them moving around so much or the feeling of Minho’s weight over him. He also can’t hate the smug look plastered on Minho’s face and certainly doesn’t hate when Minho kisses him sweetly.

 

“A little, can’t always let you win, now can I?” Taehyun smiles against his lips and takes him by the hand when they break apart. “C’mon, we should clean ourselves up and shower.”

 

“Ha, not together. You’ll shower _after_ me.” Taehyun snorts, enjoying the pout Minho gives him as he stands up and searches for his clothes.

 

“O...kay.” Minho says distractedly, enjoying seeing Taehyun move around his room naked.

 

Taehyun turns back to him and rolls his eyes with a smile. “Maybe some other time,” he ruffles his hair.

 

“Looking forward to it.”

________

 

After breakfast, which was a lot less nerve-wracking then the night before, they step outside the house with Minho announcing they’re going out for a bit.

 

Taehyun tugs on the string of his hoodie as he waits for Minho by the door. That weather seems pleasant as it’s still very early, so he decided to just wear one over his black T-shirt and shorts.

 

Minho adjusts the backpack he is carrying and hands Taehyun some sunglasses to use before taking his hand in his. “You ready to go?” Minho himself wore a thin white shirt with black joggers and a headband to keep his hair out of his face.

 

Taehyun slips them on and nods as they walk down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. “So, we’re going to be walking the whole time?”

 

“You’re not one to usually complain,” Minho says, turning to look at him curiously. “Plus, you like walking.”

 

“I do, just...y’know,” he swings their hands to imply what he means, and Minho’s mouth makes an ‘o’ as he understands.

 

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he brings their linked hands together and kisses the back of Taehyun’s palm. “And everything is pretty much walking distance so no car. I used to always ride my bike everywhere when I went on my own, but my parents sold it a long time ago.”

 

“Are you saying you would have just made me walk alongside you as you rode your bike?”

 

Minho snickers and shakes his head. “Of course not. I had a basket on my bike, you could have just sat in it.”

 

“Ugh...I rather walk than have my ass squished in a small basket.” Taehyun says, eyebrows scrunching together in distaste.

 

“There are better ways to squeeze your ass.” Minho hums in reply and Taehyun laughs as he shakes his head softly.

 

“There is no sating you. I’m kind of glad we’re here. Gives my ass a break for once.”

 

“Hey, don’t say it like that. Didn’t we wait 2 months before officially having sex?”

 

“ _Officially_ ,” Taehyun repeats, voice coming out playfully. “But we did a lot of things in between to, remember?”

 

Minho turns to look at Taehyun, enjoying the carefreeness on his face. The early morning light gives his hair a nice glow and makes it appear more purple than brown. “You really are out of this world,” Minho says more to himself but Taehyun’s smile is blinding and he gives him a small peck.

 

“Enough compliments, show me everything!” He tugs at Minho’s hand excitedly and Minho returns that excitement full force.

 

The pier isn’t that far from Minho’s home and they make it there in less than 10 minutes, but that could be because they raced there.

 

Taehyun takes a deep breath, inhaling the salty air as they stare out into the ocean. “Did you spend a lot of time here as a kid?”

 

“Here? Not really. I like the view of the ocean but that’s about it.” Minho says as he leans against the wooden railing.

 

“So why did you bring me here first then?”

 

“I wanted to show you a few places that weren’t from my dreams. Figured it be better to start you off with the unfamiliar and work my way to what you do remember.” He then jumps up and sits on the railing, patting the side next to him for Taehyun to take. “Besides, we have a whole week, so we can take our time.”

 

Taehyun settles beside Minho and turns to look at him. They haven’t even gotten to the beach and yet Taehyun already feels an overwhelming sense of peace with Minho. He also thinks it’s thoughtful of him to show other parts of his town first for Taehyun’s benefit. “That sounds good. What else is there aside from looking at the ocean.”

 

“There are a lot of things you can do, right now we’re at the pier so mostly we’re just viewing. If we walk further there are some food stalls and an arcade.” Minho tilts his head to the side where indeed Taehyun can see the closed stalls. “It’s too early for anything to be open but it gets really busy at night.”

 

“We should come, see if I can kick your ass in any games.” He says, watching how he can see a couple of boats sway against the sea calmly.

 

Minho snorts in amusement. “You’re going to eat your words, but if you want I can get you a stuffed toy from the claw machine when I beat you later.”

 

“Whatever loser.” Taehyun shoves him with his shoulder, smile ever growing.

 

“Already using the name you’re going to be called, huh?”

 

They spend a little more time on the pier before moving on to the next couple of locations. By the time they make their way back home, the sun is fully above them and Taehyun yanks off his hoodie.

 

“Oh,” Minho says with surprise, bringing Taehyun’s attention to him.

 

“What?”

 

“That’s my aunt’s car. Guess they’re finally here.” He smiles and when they step inside they can hear other voices coming from farther inside. “We’re back!” Minho calls out.

 

“Good, your aunt and cousins are here and we’re just about to have lunch.” His mom answers back from the dinning room.

 

“Alright, we’ll just be a sec.”

 

"A sec?" Taehyun asks.

 

"My aunt will have a heart attack if we show up all sweaty," Minho says and ushers Taehyun back upstairs toward his room.

 

"You just want to get me out of my clothes," Taehyun huffs as the door closes, Minho just laughs and swats at his butt.

 

When they are done changing, they are making their way down the stairs when another male pops out from the corner and races up to them.

 

“Bro!” Says a male about the same height as Minho with wide smile.

 

“Gun!” Minho hugs his cousin heartily, happy to see him after so long. He pulls away and cups the others face with a big grin. “You look good.”

 

Gunhee nods before his eyes drift to the person lingering behind them. Minho follows his gaze and his smile softens. “Taehyun, this is my cousin Gunhee,” Minho introduces.

 

“But you can just call me Gun,” Gunhee adds with a friendly smile.

 

“Gun,” Taehyun says, his chin dipping as he tests the name out. “It’s nice to meet you.” He wasn’t that familiar with the other but Minho had mentioned him in passing.

 

“Likewise, I’ve been wanting to meet you ever since Minho said he was bringing his boyfriend.”

 

Taehyun goes to reply when another voice, much younger, shouts Minho’s name excitedly. “Minho!” He crashes into his legs and looks up at him brightly.

 

“You brought Jaehyun with you all?” Minho asks as he lifts the little boy up and makes their way down the rest of the stairs. He swings the boy in his arms and kisses his cheek several times while Jaehyun giggles happily.

 

“His parents were going to be out of town for a month, my mom thought it would be better if he just came with us here instead of staying with a babysitter.” Says an attractive female a bit older than them all.

 

She pulls Minho into a strong hug and then takes a step back with her hands on his shoulders, looking him up and down. “You’ve gotten broader. Hope you’re planning to flaunt this body off.” She then looks to Taehyun and offers her hand to him politely, “Hi, I’m Sunyoung, Gun’s sister.”

 

“Taehyun,” he says, returning the handshake. He looks between all the family members and wonders how a family could be so good looking. A laugh brings him back from his thoughts as he sees Minho put Jaehyun down.

 

The kid meets his gaze and shyly looks away, moving to hide behind Minho’s leg. Minho just laughs and pushes him forward, “Say hi.” Jaehyun whines quietly to Minho, but bows ninety degrees as he meets Taehyun’s gaze.

 

“Hello, Jaehyun. Is that your name?” Taehyun bends over a little and smiles softly.

 

Jaehyun nods and timidly looks towards Minho, who seems to encourage him. “And you? What’s your name?”

 

“My name is Taehyun,” he answers.

 

“Nice to meet you, Taehyun.” He sounds so proper and shy. Taehyun bites his lip trying not to smile too much.

 

“You too.”

 

Jaehyun looks at him one more time before dashing back to the dining room. Taehyun stands straight again and doesn’t realize he’s still smiling till Minho nudges him.

 

“C’mon, you still gotta meet my aunt.”

________

 

After lunch, and becoming more familiar with the rest of Minho’s family, Jaehyun asks Minho if he can take him to the beach.

 

“Sweetie I’m sure Minho wants to spend time with his boyfriend, maybe another time,” his aunt tells Jaehyun who pouts sadly.

 

“It’s fine, I was planning to take Taehyun to the beach anyways.” Minho says and stands up from where he was sitting on the floor. Jaehyun’s smile is back and he jumps happily into Minho’s arms.

 

“I’ll come too,” Gun offers and Sunyoung also agrees.

 

“Great, let’s get our things and meet at the back patio in a few minutes.”

 

While waiting for his cousins to finish getting changed, Minho adjusts the parasol he has under his arm and the big beach bag on the other hand. Taehyun is carrying another bag full of towels and looks down to see Jaehyun, who’s face is painted white with sunscreen, staring at him again.

 

Taehyun shifts a little nervously, wondering why the weight of the boy’s approval seemed so important.

 

“Do you know how to build sand castles?” Jaehyun asks, swinging his big bucket that contains his sand kit.

 

“Um…” Taehyun’s eyes widen and he looks up at Minho, who’s trying to hide his laughter behind his hand. “I haven’t since I was a kid. I mostly played in the snow but I’m sure it’s the same thing. Maybe you can teach me?”

 

“Jaehyun is an excellent castle builder! He learned from the best.” Minho says, with a wink towards Taehyun and leans over to whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry, you’ll win him over.” It makes his heart jump in his chest and he nods back at Minho.

 

“Okay let’s get a move on!” Gun says when Sunyoung and he come outside and join them.

 

The group starts walking down the wooden path that leads to the beach, and when it comes into view Jaehyun excitedly pulls Minho’s hand and Minho gives Taehyun an apologetic look before letting his younger cousin drag him away.

 

“Wait up for me!” Gun yells and chases after them.

 

“He always seems so happy here,” Sunyoung comments as she walks into step with Taehyun. “Like an excited 3-year-old.”

 

“They seem really close,” Taehyun replies, watching how Minho and Jaehyun try to run away from Gun.

 

“Yeah, we all grew up together, Minho, Danah, Gunhee, and me.” She says with a smile. “Jaehyun may be only 6 but he reminds us a lot of ourselves at the time. God, we we’re such wild kids back then, but Minho and Gun were practically joined at the hip. He was probably the first person who supported Minho after he came out to our family—well aside from his parents of course.”

 

“Really?” Taehyun never knew that, Minho had only told him he came out to his parents.

 

“Yeah, it was during the graduating party we made for him and Minho kind of just announced it to everyone. A lot of our family didn’t take it well at first but overtime I think everyone slowly has come to grips with it.”

 

Taehyun’s face must have showed something because Sunyoung grabs his hand and shakes her head. “Oh honey, no, you don’t need to worry. Minho has never been afraid to be who he is, and our family must have seen that and just accepted it as is. Now everyone can’t get over how successful he is,” she says with a snort and flicks her hair over her shoulders.

 

Taehyun can’t help but smile and thinks he’s going to get along well with Sunyoung. She links their arms together as they continue on their way. “Now come, before these idiots drop everything.” Her laugh feeling just as warm as her hand.

 

As they reach the beach, Jaehyun is just about ready to run towards the sea, but Gun grabs his collar from the back and makes him stay in place. The kid pouts and turns back to them. Minho looks around to find a place for them in between all the people at the beach, though the area they’re at isn’t nearly as packed since it’s mostly families from the neighborhood.

 

They settle for an area closer to the water, the space is big enough for the parasol and to lay the cloth they brought along. Taehyun takes the bags from Minho as he sets up the parasol and sinks it in the sand. Sunyoung and Gun lay down the cloth and take out some sunscreen and start applying it on each other.

 

"Can I go now?" Jaehyun pleads, fidgeting in place.

 

"Wait," Sunyoung tells him. "You need more sunscreen." She takes off Jaehyun’s t-shirt and layers his skin with cream, "There you can go now. But stay in sight."

 

“I’ll go with him,” Gun says and follows after his younger cousin.

 

Taehyun sits down on the cloth next to Sunyoung and she smiles at him before slipping her earphones on and laying down. A sudden movement brings Taehyun’s attention back to Minho. His boyfriend pulls his t-shirt over his head, letting it fall by the bag. His tanned skin is on full display along with his tattoos and Taehyun licks his lips. Quickly, he faces the sea again and tries to focus on Jaehyun splashing water around and not on his hot boyfriend.

 

“You should take your shirt off, it’s going to get hotter.” Minho says and offers the bottle to Taehyun. “I can put it on you if you want.” He wiggles his eyebrows and Taehyun just laughs.

 

“Thanks, but I can handle it myself.” Looking around, he can see traces of their dreams scattered all over and suddenly feels sentimental at the memories.

 

“What’s on your mind?” Minho asks, watching as Taehyun takes everything in. He already knows what the other is thinking but still asks.

 

“Just...never thought I would ever get the chance to actually be here with you...it’s—"

 

“Crazy?” Minho offers and Taehyun nods.

 

“You could say that, but in a good way.”

 

“Yeah,” Minho leans back a little with a small smile. “Next time we come just by ourselves.”

 

“Minho!” Jaehyun comes running back to them after some time with an exhausted Gun. “Come play with me!”

 

Minho agrees and Taehyun moves aside so he can pass but Minho’s hand presses on his thigh, signaling for him to follow. “Taehyun can join us, right?” The smile he directs at Jaehyun is a playful one as he asks the younger.

 

Jaehyun nods shyly, and holds one of their hands each. He swings his arms and makes Minho’s and Taehyun’s follow the motions as they walk back to the sea.

 

Eventually Jaehyun seems to prefer Taehyun over Minho and he lets the two enjoy spending time together and goes back to sit down with a towel over his shoulders. He watches as Taehyun and Jaehyun play with the small waves on the coast, trying to outrun the oncoming waves. Jaehyun’s little fingers curling around Taehyun’s hand tightly when a wave touches his feet and he cries out happily. Taehyun carries Jaehyun in his arms and rushes forward so they can get wet more, laughing as Jaehyun clings onto him every time a wave splashes their back. There's something adorable in that image, and it makes Minho smile and chest feel warm.

 

He is mesmerized by the way the blue color of the sea and sunlight reflect on Taehyun’s face, making his smile even more beautiful than it already is. Minho feels himself become short of breath when Taehyun looks at him in the eye and waves at him.

 

“You thinking of having a kid with him?” Gun asks as he plops down beside Minho, taking a sip from his water bottle.

 

“I don’t know,” he shrugs with a smile and waves back to Taehyun. “We haven’t been together long enough to think about kids.” _Though the idea seems nice_ , he thinks.

 

“Oh yeah, sorry it just looks like you guys have been together longer than...how long has it been again?”

 

“It’s about 7 months now.” Minho answers and looks back to his cousin.

 

“Not bad, you seem crazy about him.”

 

“Thanks, I am.” He simply laughs. Wondering just how happy he looks around Taehyun that everyone can see it.

 

“We should all go out later,” Gun says with a smile. Later meaning going out for drinks. Minho agrees, and they start talking about their lives and catch up with Sunyoung commenting here and there.

 

Taehyun and Jaehyun join back up later and are soaking wet but they seem very pleased with themselves.

 

“You two had fun?” Sunyoung asks with a knowing smile.

 

“Yes! Taehyun is the best!” Jaehyun throws his arms around Taehyun’s legs and smiles up at him. “You’re my favorite now.”

 

“Hey, hey, Jae I thought I was your favorite?” Minho says with a pout. He hands them both a towel to dry themselves and a water bottle to clean their hands.

 

Jaehyun looks back at Minho and purses his lips, seeming to be considering before shrugging. “If you help me build a sand castle I may change my mind.”

 

“Cheeky brat,” Minho says and reaches over to ruffle his hair with the towel. “After we eat, okay?”

 

Jaehyun agrees and Taehyun and he go back under the parasol as Sunyoung starts passing around sandwiches to everyone.

 

When they’re done, Minho gives Jaehyun his blue bucket. "Bring some water so we can wet the sand here and teach Taehyun how to build a sand castle."

 

Nodding, Jaehyun takes the bucket as if he has been given an important mission and hurries on. Minho keeps his eyes on his cousin as he dashes towards the sea like a madman. It takes him no time to come back with the bucket filled to the brim.

 

“Taehyun, come here,” Jaehyun tells him with a serious face. He even calls him with a hand gesture, grinning from ear to ear.

 

Taehyun follows the order, softly laughing, as he crawls forward to sit on the sand, no longer in the shadow of the parasol. Jaehyun pours water over the sand and settles the ground for a castle as he gives Taehyun a lesson. Taehyun doesn’t mind one bit and listens to everything Jaehyun tells him while Minho helps build the castle. Jaehyun even creates a story centered on prince Minho searching for prince Taehyun every night in his dreams. Waiting for the day they could finally be reunited and live in the castle happily.

 

“That’s an interesting story,” Taehyun muses, catching Minho’s wink at him.

 

“It’s unique,” Jaehyun assures with a smile.

 

After they’re done, Jaehyun pulls Minho towards the sea, leaving Taehyun to look after their castle. Taehyun watches them playing in the water and laughs when Minho spins Jaehyun a couple of times and races him to the water. Pulling him up when the waves approach so he won’t get as wet. The image is so beautiful; Taehyun takes out his phone and snaps a photo.

 

When Minho makes it back under the parasol, he lies his head on Taehyun’s lap and is unable to contain his yawns. Exhaustion of spending the whole day in the sun and from the waves finally taking its toll on him. Taehyun smiles, brushing his wet hair off his forehead and leans down to kiss him. Minho smiles and soon drifts off to sleep for a bit. Taehyun eases him off his lap and goes to help build another sand castle with Jaehyun.

 

They make it under the shade and Jaehyun continues chatting about the two princes and how this sand castle was prince Taehyun’s. It’s a lot smaller since Taehyun isn’t that good but Jaehyun tells him not to worry.

 

Taehyun looks back to his sleeping boyfriend and then back to Jaehyun digging a little hole. Suddenly a devious smile graces his face as he gets the boy’s attention. “I have an idea.”

 

Minho wakes up some time later as he hears giggles and snickers from nearby. It feels like there is something heavy around him and he can’t really move. Opening his eyes, he sees his cousins and Taehyun sticking empty water bottles on top of him and realizes what is going on.

 

“He’s awake!” Jaehyun says and sits back with surprise.

 

“Who—Taehyun did you do this?” Minho asks as he tries to turn his head to look to where his boyfriend is sitting with a shit-eating grin.

 

“I told you I would get back at you for this morning!” Taehyun says and throws a little more sand on Minho.

 

Minho sputters and cranes his head back as far as it can go to avoid any sand from getting into his mouth.

 

“Give him a towel to cover him a bit,” Sunyoung says and Gun moves to wrap one around him, protecting him from getting anymore sand in his mouth.

 

“You guys too?!” Minho says, looking every ounce of betrayed. They empty a couple of more bottles on Minho and ignore his cries for release.

 

“Why are you throwing water on me?”

 

“To make sure it stays firm!” Jaehyun says as if it’s the most obvious thing and begins patting the sand along with everyone else.

 

“Yah! Get me out of here!” He struggles to move under all the sand and then sees Taehyun sitting up, looking ready to leave. “Taehyun! Where are you going? You better come back here, or I swear I’ll f—"

 

“We’ll be back for you after we get our ice cream. In the meantime, enjoy yourself,” Taehyun says as he takes Jaehyun’s hand in his. “Say bye to your cousin, Jae.” Jaehyun waves bye at Minho cheekily and the two proceed to walk away. Taehyun looks back and blows a kiss to Minho with a wink.

 

Minho looks to the side to see Gun trying to hold in his laughter and failing. “Gun, please!”

 

“Uh, y’know what? I’m kind of feeling ice cream too, Sun?” He looks to his sister, ignoring Minho’s existence entirely.

 

Sunyoung nods and stands up, “Yeah, let’s go.” She waves her fingers at Minho. “See you later, kiddo.”

 

“Don’t leave me like this, guys!” Some of the sand is starting to break but not enough to let Minho move. His nose suddenly feels itchy and he yells out for one of them to come back.

 

The only responses he gets is everyone saying goodbye and promising to bring him something back.

________

On the last day of their stay, Minho wakes to find Taehyun not beside him. He looks around his room and sees the sliding door leading to the outside balcony of his room slightly ajar.

 

Sensing that Taehyun is probably there, he pulls a baja hoodie over his naked chest and slips some shorts on as he walks out to join him.

 

Taehyun is leaning on the rail with a cigarette hanging on his lips, puffs of smoke coming out of his mouth every few seconds. He looks to the side when the door makes a noise and meets Minho’s gaze warmly. “Morning.”

 

“Good morning, you’re up early.” Minho stands next to him and leans a little on Taehyun sleepily.

 

“Yeah, you were right about the scenery in the morning. It’s gorgeous.” He says. The rest of the week had gone by pleasantly, filled with laughter and getting to know Minho’s family a lot better. Taehyun had never felt more welcome than with them.

 

They quietly watch the scenery in front of them, sharing the cigarette as Minho slips his hand under Taehyun’s shirt and rubs small patterns into his back.

 

“Did you have a good time here?” He asks, pressing a kiss to his temple.

 

“Yeah,” Taehyun nods reassuringly. “I did.” He felt like he was a local with the amount of walking Minho and he had done over the whole week and had come to familiarize the town with him.

 

There are a few fishing boats in the near distance and it makes Taehyun think back to what happened a couple of days ago. “Remember when your dad took us fishing and our fishing lines got caught? We kept tugging thinking we both caught something, but it turned out to be ourselves.”

 

Minho lowers his head as he chuckles in agreement. “What kind of rom-com did we step into when that happened?”

 

“I don’t know,” Taehyun shrugs, smile still on his face at the memory. “I thought it was cute.”

 

“No what was cute was when we took Jaehyun to the aquarium and you ended up being more excited for it than him. You even started dragging him to see other things instead of the other way around.”

 

“Excuse me if I don’t always get to experience things like the sea life! Plus, the aquarium was huge and beautiful!”

 

“I think my favorite moment was when we went for a walk and it ended up raining really bad, so we had to wait it out under the pier.”

 

“And then you kissed me in the rain like the romantic that you are.” Taehyun adds and Minho just nods with a smile of his own.

 

There is a soft lingering touch on his forearm, a finger stroking his skin and Taehyun shivers and leans closer to Minho as a breeze picks up. The only sound that can be heard is the waves crashing against the rocks, even though they can’t be seen. He really is going to miss the peace this place has brought him.

 

“Oh, before we leave there is something I want to get.”

 

“What’s that?” Minho asks as he links their hands together.

 

“I saw this dolphin cup at the aquarium, if you drink from the straw the dolphin inside sprouts water!” Taehyun replies with a smile.

 

The corner of Minho’s lip lifts and he laughs in approval. “Sounds tacky enough to be in our collection.”

 

“It can even be the first to start it.”

 

They stare at one another until their lips meet halfway. They kiss slow and sweet, enjoying this moment to themselves as Minho’s arms wrap around Taehyun. Taehyun’s hands run over Minho’s sides, bringing him even closer as he sucks on his bottom lip. Soon their mouths move in a nice rhythm and Taehyun moves to kiss Minho on his cheeks, his jawline, and then his nose before pulling away and resting his head on Minho’s shoulder.

 

“Hey, Minho.”

 

“Hm?” Minho hums, swaying them a little to a tuneless tune and causing Taehyun to bury himself closer and close his eyes.

 

“Were sunrises always this perfect?”

 

“I guess they are when it’s this early,” He presses a kiss to Taehyun’s hair before running his fingers through it. “And when you’re with the right person.”

 

“Couldn’t agree with you more.”

 

………….

**FALL**

 

 

 

"Put it back," Taehyun mutters as they make their way through the market, eyes on the list in front of him.

 

"But I need it," Minho whines, staring down at the box of cake mix.

 

"What could you possibly be thinking of doi—" Taehyun sighs heavily as he walks swiftly after Minho when he decides to dash down the aisle, "—No, definitely not."

 

"What could I possibly be thinking? Baking, duh," Minho says as he looks at the different tubes of icing. “We need to have something to offer others at our housewarming party.”

 

“Why should we make anything? Shouldn’t people be bringing us stuff since we just moved in?” Taehyun frowns, that was how it worked right? They show everyone their home, they get food and gifts in return. 

 

“Uh, babe we moved in like a couple of weeks ago. This party is long overdue.”

 

“Well we were delayed because I had to nurse you back to health. Jeez to believe I slaved in the kitchen for you.” He huffs, flicking his chestnut brown hair out of his face.

 

“Taehyun, you only know how to make like 4 meals and if you’re mom hadn’t stopped by I probably would still be sick.” Minho snorts and places the cake material into the cart. Smiling when Taehyun doesn’t say anything about it. 

 

“It’s the thought that matters,” Taehyun replies and then points to where the dairy section is. “Go get the eggs for breakfast.”

 

"Fiiiine," Minho turns on his heel and disappears around the corner. Taehyun’s eyes lingers on Minho’s back until he is out of sight and he lets out a soft sigh, smiling to himself and his childish boyfriend. 

 

They were already coming into a full year since being together and had decided to just move in together. None of their friends or family even seemed to be surprised as it just made sense to them all. Both of their places already held more of each other’s things than others would consider normal. So they went house searching and ended up finding a place that appealed to them both and wasn’t too far from their own work places. And now that everything was finally settled and to their liking, they were planning to have a housewarming party tomorrow night and came to get a couple of things to prepare. 

 

Looking down at what they had in their cart, Taehyun almost can’t believe he had to talk Minho out of six different kinds of microwavable foods and dinners so far and he doesn’t expect it to be the last. It wasn’t like he was oppose to that kind of food, but they were trying to learn how to cook on their own and not rely on calling their moms every time one of them fucked up or forgot how to make something. Separately they were a disaster in the kitchen, but together they can make a couple of decent dishes.

 

Minho seems to be taking a while and Taehyun has no doubts he probably is trying to smuggle another item. He decides to just continues browsing through the aisles and get whatever else they need since his boyfriend has a big appetite. 

 

There is a sale on the beef, but not on the spare ribs, but he kind of wants chicken this week. Maybe he should check if there is any decently priced seafood. Although he was unable to eat it, Minho would often comment about not having his fill and Taehyun felt bad for being the reason for it. He checks the aisle out before committing to anything else. It turns out that there is a discount on salmon, but a giggling couple took the last package right before he got there, huffing in annoyance, he looks around the empty bin for anything else. They actually had eel this time, but no sales on that one. He lets out a sigh, as he looks at the price. “Why is seafood so expensive?” Taehyun becomes so lost in his thoughts that he is caught completely off–guard when he feels someone nudge him. 

 

“Either I just died and gone to heaven or there are now angels living amongst us.” 

 

Taehyun rolls his eyes and looks back to his boyfriend. “Are you seriously trying to pick me up at a grocery store?”

 

“I thought it be fun,” he shrugs as he places the carton of eggs carefully into the cart. “You should have played along.” Minho then shows off what else he has in his hands. “Look what else I got!” Taehyun can only raise an amused eyebrow at the gleeful expression on Minho’s face as he shows off the little cups of jelly. 

 

“Are you looking at seafood?” Minho then asks as he looks down to the eel Taehyun still has in his own hands. 

 

“Trying,” Taehyun says as he still debates on getting the eel or not. “Just so you can stop complaining about never getting to eat any of this stuff.” 

 

“You’re the best!” Minho leans in to kiss him on the cheek and Taehyun just shakes his head with a smile. They spend a little more time getting what they need and even trying out some of the few samples, including tteokbokki which made the couple really happy. 

 

"I think we're about done," Taehyun says as he checks off the last remaining items and looks back to Minho for clarification. 

 

"Yeah! Let’s go drop off all the food then pick something up on our way to your studio," Minho tells him. “There are a couple of sketches I want to finish working on before I reach my deadline.”

 

Ever since Taehyun was asked to work at the entertainment company he had been interning for he had gotten enough money to buy his own studio and the couple had adopted it as a place where they can focus on their own individual works outside of their jobs. Taehyun was doing good for himself by already having a couple of his songs selected to be used in recordings and still have time on the side to work on his own music with his band. Meanwhile, Minho’s career had picked up ever since his work was shown back in spring and now he worked full-time with the company he was in while also collaborating with other brands.

 

"Fine, fine," Taehyun replies as they reach the registers and is pleasantly surprised to see no one else in line. The girl at the till smiles at them as she rings everything through and hands them the receipt before wishing them a good day.

 

Once outside, Minho digs into one of the bags he’s carrying for the small cups of jelly as they head back towards his car. "Want one?" He asks as he opens one.

 

Taehyun shakes his head, "I’m fine.” He doesn’t understand how Minho can be eat something when it’s freezing outside and tugs his scarf closer to his face. 

 

"Your loss," Minho chuckles before he tips his head back, eating a pink one and over exaggerating as he does so. 

 

Taehyun watches Minho open another one and just before he can consume it, he smiles and swoops in to take it from him, laughing when Minho pouts at him. 

 

“Hey! I offered.”

 

“Sorry,” Taehyun looks up at him innocently and Minho feels his anger subside. He can never stay mad at Taehyun for too long.

 

“You’re forgiven,” He says and leans down to kiss him but Taehyun pulls his beanie over his head and laughs as Minho sputters in surprise. 

 

Fixing his beanie, Minho is just about ready to tell Taehyun off but as he watches Taehyun’s face scrunch up while he laughs, he can’t help but feel his breath catch. Minho stares at Taehyun for a short while, eyes tracing every line and curve of his face, appreciating his beauty for what it is; ethereal. He knows there isn't enough endearments in the world that can fit into his chest at how much he loves this man and is thankful they are together. So he loops his arms around his boyfriend's waist and tugs him close, resting his head against the warm softness of his sweater, exhaling a little as he hugs the other man even closer. 

 

Taehyun notices the change in mood straight away, and Minho feels him still. "Minho?" 

 

He shakes his head. "Sorry," he murmurs, "I love you a lot and I'm glad you’re not just a dream." A tender, amused sound leaves Taehyun's mouth as he understands what Minho means. His hand moves up and starts stroking the ends of Minho's hair by his neck, carding through in a soothing rhythm.

 

Taehyun moves back a little to meet Minho’s gaze, his face breaking into a beautiful smile. "After everything thats happened?” He leans in to capture Minho’s lips lovingly and full of emotion. “As if I could ever be a dream." He snuggles closer into Minho’s broad chest as the older holds him in a gentle yet strong embrace, his smile never fading.

 

________

 

As they drive back home the song coming from the radio makes both crack a smile, somehow finding the lyrics interesting. They share a meaningful look at one another and hum along to the rest of the song.

 

_Whenever I want you all I have to do is dream. Dream, dream, dream, dream._

 

Fin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is officially the end of the main storyline! I won’t be marking this down as complete yet since I still need to post the other 4 bonus chapters but thank you to everyone who commented and and left kudos! I also appreciate you all for giving this story a chance despite the difficulty I had when I first started writing it. I wanted to experiment with the theme of dreams and while there is still a part of me that wants to redo some chapters, I’m overall satisfied with everything. 
> 
> Now that the main storyline is done, the bonus chapters will be featuring some stuff I didn’t manage to fit in and also contain some more backstory so please look forward to that! I probably will be editing some of the chapters this week for grammar and other mistakes but the first of the bonus chapter will probably be out by next week so till then and thanks again for reading ^^


	11. Midnight Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this takes place between chapters 4 and 5...basically me giving more content that should have been there, apologies!

_Minho_

 

 

For the last couple of days Danah has been in the hospital and it’s been worrying Minho nonstop. What started off as simple stomach cramps turned into a full panic when she collapsed on their way to school. It took a lot of self-restraint to not start crying as he carried her to the nearest place and called for help. She was rushed to the ER immediately and hasn’t been released since. Everyone keeps thanking Minho for his quick work, but he doesn’t feel like he really did much when Danah is still lying in a bed somewhere in the hospital probably just as scared as Minho feels. It doesn’t help either that he can’t seem to remember what it is they found—or maybe he just keeps blocking it out when someone wants to sit down and talk to him about it.

His parents spend most of their days there as well and whenever they are home it’s for the necessities and then they’re back to the hospital. Once when he waited up for them he overheard his parents talking as he was coming down the stairs but stopped when his mom began sobbing. From his view he can his dad’s arms around his mom as he tries to comfort her but there was no denying the fear and uneasiness in his voices as he speaks.

Minho silently goes back up to his room and lays down in bed, watching the moon from his window for some time as the murmurs coming from downstairs subside after a while. Eventually, he curls into himself and pulls his covers over his head. Wishing everything could be like his dream world where there is Taehyun and nothing but an otherworldly sense of happiness. However, Minho knows the only explanation to the weird fantastical world he's somehow come up with is only in his head, but that doesn’t stop the comforting thought of imagining Taehyun being real. He manages to fall asleep, but his mind and heart have never felt so uneasy and the only thing he dreams about is a storm that matches with his own feelings.

………….

Today is different though, because he’s going to visit Danah and not spend another day at home with only his grandparents to keep him company.

As he steps into the room, he immediately is greeted with a huge smile from Danah. “Minho! I’m glad you came.” She looks at him happily and he does his best to ignore the tubes in her nose or how wan she appears. It’s still something he’s not used to seeing every time he visits but it’s getting easier.

“Y-Yeah,” he pauses to clear his throat and rubs at his eyes when he feels the familiar sting forming at the corners. Danah’s smile lessens a bit but she opens her arms invitingly and beckons Minho over. He walks across the room and wraps his arms tightly around her, simply holding each other for a very long time. Danah pats his back after a while and when he pulls back she scoots to the side, signaling for him to sit on the bed with her.

Minho shakes his head and spots the chair by the window his mom often occupies. “I’ll just take the chair.” He drags the chair and puts it down beside her, shrugging off the bag he came with him as he sits down and placing it between his feet while he starts rummaging through it.

Danah sits up a little more when she sees Minho pull out his sketch book and some markers. “You want to show me some of your art?” She asks, always liking when Minho brought his sketch book for her to look at.

Minho nods with a small smile and flips open to the last thing he worked on. A half crescent moon with a sad face on it and a rope tied at the tip is the center piece of the drawing, accompany the moon are scattered stars and a rocket ship blasting off in the near distance, the smoke forming heart shape clouds in the air. Beneath all that are several different kinds of flowers and palm trees all surrounding a small island where two figures are sitting, looking out to the small sea that disappears off the page. There is another sad face on a shaded cloud hanging over one of the figures as the one beside them looks at them with a droopy expression.

Danah thinks that despite not knowing exactly what this could be about, it speaks for itself on what Minho’s feeling are. She looks over at her brother who is massaging the back of his neck, and can see the hidden fatigue he has been trying to pass off. “Minho,” she calls out his name, drawing his attention back to her.

“Yeah?”

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping lately.” She chides, reminding him of their mom. “if you want you can take a nap on the other bed, no one sleeps there yet.”

Minho kind of wants to tell Danah that it seems a little disturbing to sleep on a hospital bed that will eventually be taken by someone who is either dying or hurt. Instead he nods as he agrees with her. “I am sleeping.”

“It doesn’t seem like enough, please take care of yourself Minho.” Danah replies. Minho apologizes and says he will but Danah doesn’t look convinced, knows that when something is bothering her brother it sticks with him like gum on a shoe.

They go through a couple more pages in his sketch book until Danah comes across a page filled of different kinds of drawings with one thing in common, droopy eyebrows. She tilts her head to the side curiously and looks back to Minho. “What’s all this?”

Minho looks up from his phone and almost drops it when he sees what Danah is referring to. “Wait, that’s not...I can explain!”

Danah laughs at the panic look on Minho’s face as if she just discovered some big secret. “Okay, I’m sure this will be interesting.”

“Those are...well, um,” he doesn’t understand why he’s stumbling over his words and shakes his head. “They’re just doodles of a friend.” He finishes lamely.

“Which friend do you have that makes you want to draw a whole page dedicated to their brows?” Her lips twitch amusingly as Minho’s face reddens a bit.

“I’ve drawn my friends before!” Minho tries to defend himself but knows it’s useless because Danah looks like she’s enjoying herself too much now.

“I’m sure you have,” she reaches over for the pitcher of water, but Minho stands up and pours her a cup. After taking a couple of sips, she looks at Minho from over the rim, her eyes crinkling at the sides as she smiles. “So, who is this person? I think I would have remembered someone with eyebrows like that.”

Minho debates on whether he should tell Danah about Taehyun but decides to just go with it. It’s just them in the room so he knows he doesn’t have to worry about his parents overhearing their conversations.

“His name is Taehyun, he’s sort of my friend?” The last part comes out more like a question because Minho is not sure how to exactly phrase that. In the literal sense they _are_ friends, but if he’s a friend from his dreams he makes up then is Taehyun _really_ his friend?

“What do you mean ‘sort of?’”

“Uh, well we met at the park a couple years back, and it’s kind of a thing where we just meet up from time to time.”

“Oh, I see, is that why you never mentioned him before?” She asks.

“Yeah, he’s not from around here.”

“Ah, a vacationer then?”

“You could say that.” Minho shrugs, hands fiddling with the laces of his hoodie distractedly.

Danah nods, still curious about this Taehyun guy. “Do you have any pictures of him? I want to see why you felt the need to draw so many versions of him. He must be something, right?” She laughs as Minho brings up his hand to cover his face, but he’s smiling as well.

“Jeez, let me live would ya?” He pleads.

“No. I’m your sister, if I’m not at least ripping on you from time to time then what kind of sibling would I be?”

“A good one?” That earns him a light slap on his arm but he pretends to act like it really hurts.

Danah just rolls her eyes at her brother’s childishness but is happy to see him acting like himself again. “Anyways, stop trying to avoid the question. Do you or do you not have a picture I can see?”

“I don’t, sorry.” He admits, wishing he actually could show Danah some proof of Taehyun that wasn’t just traces of his dreams he put in his sketch book.

“You spend time with him whenever he visits but never have taken a picture with him? That’s odd, wouldn’t you want to have memories to look back to?”

“I guess we’re too busy just getting to hang out with the time we have that it slips our minds.” Minho says.

“Hmm,” Danah looks down and then remembers the sketch book in her lap and looks back to Minho. “Well since you don’t have any pictures, would you mind drawing him for me?” She hands him back his sketch book.

“Sure,” Minho takes the book from her and grabs one of his makers as he begins to sketch the face he’s done so many times before he could practically do it in his sleep. However, he makes sure to put more details than all his previous drawings, trying to be as accurate as he can be. He’s so focused on his sketch that he doesn’t notice the way Danah is quietly observing him, thoughts wondering to who this mysterious Taehyun is and how Minho suddenly looks more relax than she’s seen him be the last few weeks.

When he’s done he hands it over for her to look at, feeling satisfied at how it turned out. He drew a headshot of Taehyun with his face smiling, which in turn makes his eyebrows become droopier and it brings a smile to Minho’s own face unconsciously.

“So, this is Taehyun, huh?” Danah traces the drawing with light fingers, not wanting to stain the ink. “He sort of looks like a bunny with that smile,” she says, but still admires the rest of the sketch. His features seemed a lot softer than she’s seen on other boys but somehow, he has a face that can balance the feminine and masculine qualities based on how Minho drew him.

“Yeah but he acts more like a cat.” Minho tilts forward a bit to stare at the sketch appreciatively. “Cold at first but once he lets you in... he never let’s go.”

Danah thinks that is an interesting way to describe someone but she doesn’t say anything to Minho about that, instead she asks, “Do you like him?” Her question seems to surprise Minho because he stumbles in his seat, head falling into the bed.

“W-What? Why would you assume—I mean...w-where do you get that idea from?” He shakes his head as he sits back into his seat, hating how awkward he sounded just now. Where is Danah going off about that? _Ha_ , she’s very funny. Liking Taehyun? Of course, he likes Taehyun! ...but the implication to her question was there. Which then made him wonder, did he like Taehyun _that_ way?

Minho thinks about it. Taehyun is attractive, not in the way Minho has seen on tv or magazines where it’s the only thing visibly. No, Taehyun has that kind of beauty where it’s brought out by the uniqueness of his personality, making him charming and delicate when he’s completely unguarded and it’s a sight Minho always finds beautiful to experience. But Taehyun is only a person he imagined in a dream, right? So then does that mean Minho’s ideal type is...Taehyun? Or at least someone like Taehyun? A _guy_. Ah, this is starting to become a headache!

“Minho~” she calls out to him, looking every bit as amused as she sounds.

He snaps out of his inner struggle and remembers Danah is waiting for a response. “I...guess? I mean he’s a guy though so isn’t that weird?”

Danah shrugs, “Who am I to judge? Our feelings are our feelings, Minho. They can’t be helped.”

“Maybe it’s just a crush?” He rubs at his neck shyly and Danah’s got a soft, understanding look in her eyes.

“Yeah, maybe. Have you ever kissed anyone?” She asks, changing the subject and Minho feels slightly relief.

“Not really, my first kiss was kind of stolen from me.” He admits and Danah’s eyes widen as she leans closer to her brother.

“By who?!”

“An older student. She kind of tricked me into it.” He says sheepishly.

“Ah, Minho you’re the only guy I know who can be ‘tricked’ into kissing someone.” Danah ruffles his hair, seeming to act like the older of the two.

Minho just pouts in response. “Your poor brother was taken advantage of and that’s all you can say about that?”

“Pretty much!” Danah laughs, smiling so beautifully that Minho doesn’t mind her teasing one bit and just smiles back. “It sounds like something that would happen to you. Seriously Minho, you are so oblivious to how many girls flock over you.” She then waves her hand to dismiss his protests to that. “It doesn’t matter, like him or don’t like him, tell me more about Taehyun!”

Minho spends the rest of his visit telling Danah all about Taehyun, looking livelier than when he first arrived. A smile remains on her face as she listens intently, and Danah thinks that her brother will be alright without her.

………….

After Danah is gone Minho has a hard time adjusting to everything. The only comfort is when he dreams and spends time with Taehyun in their world. It had been quite a while since he last dreamt about Taehyun but after the previous dream a few weeks ago it feels like there’s been a shift in their friendship. They swap more personal things about each other and Minho has never felt more closer to Taehyun then now.

☾

"Danah was the best," Minho murmurs as he looks up at the sky, it's splashed with lavender, thistle, gold, and powder blue and there's a gentle lull around them. When Minho is happy there are birds whistling while butterflies and dragonflies crackle around them. This lull is peaceful though. "We used to take our bikes and ride around all over the place. She actually taught me how to ride one, so I had to learn with her bike,” he chuckles. “Just imagine me riding in a pink bike around our neighborhood. God all those bullies had a field day but there was Danah always standing up for me,” he says, and his voice gets heavier and heavier as it goes on. "We always worked together when trouble happened, and afterwards we’d go get ice cream to make me feel better.” There's a smile on his face as he looks down, fingers digging into the warm sand beneath them.

Taehyun watches Minho’s face as he talks and sees just how much he misses his sister and it breaks his heart. He thinks that when he wakes up he's going to make sure to look out for Donghyun more, because his little brother is always so wonderful to him. His eyes are glossy, and he squeezes them shut, his lashes sticking together, and it isn’t because he’s crying. He isn’t crying. "I'm sorry," Taehyun isn’t sure how many times Minho has probably heard that, but he lets out a heavy breath, trying to fight back his tears.

Minho reaches forward just as Taehyun’s eyes open. He runs his fingers through Taehyun’s hair, and he wonders if it's soft and it doesn't freak him out to think things like that, because fuck he’s going to feel what he wants to feel. He repeats the motion and Taehyun’s eyes close again. He sucks in a deep breath and lets it out so slowly that Minho wonders where he holds all that air. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just...” Taehyun swallows thickly. “Got me thinking about my dad.” Opening his eyes once again and meeting Minho’s startled face.

"You never talk about him," he says quietly. It was always a touchy subject that Minho knew not to breach.

"I don't even know what to tell you," Taehyun says honestly, or more like he isn’t sure if Minho will look at him the same way.

"How? I don't get it?" Minho replies. "I want to know." He can sense the hesitancy in Taehyun’s voice.

"Well…he used to be this big-time contractor when I was younger, and was busy all the time…" he tells Minho all there is to know about his dad. How he's missed every major point in Taehyun’s life because work is more important, and wasn’t even there when Donghyun was born. He tells Minho of how his dad lost his job and began shutting them out. Asking them to leave him alone coldly whenever Taehyun or his brother wanted to spend time with him. As if they didn’t matter. “It got worse when he started drinking...he’s always had a temper but when he drinks it would get really bad.” Taehyun wraps his arms around himself as he recalls one very incident to Minho.

It all happened so fast, back when they still lived in a house, and the stench of cigarettes and alcohol lingered in the air. Taehyun’s dad is taking swigs of his beer and stumbling over to where Taehyun is in the kitchen. Shattered glass pieces lay on the floor where he accidentally dropped a jar of jelly. The man drunkenly starts yelling at him as Taehyun keeps his head down. This seems to only anger the him more and he grabs Taehyun by his hair harshly. Taehyun cries in pain and struggles to get away from the tight grip. His scratches and claws at the older male’s face, doing anything and everything to stop him but then he's backhanded so harshly that he's too dazed to do anything for a moment. His dad reaches for a knife that’s on the counter, telling Taehyun that he needs to teach him a lesson but his mom rushes into the kitchen and sobbingly pleads for him to stop, for someone to help, for Taehyun to run back to his room and lock the door.

It was one of the worst moments of his life, and slowly the abuse had only increased until finally his mom managed to leave him. “I’m glad he’s not around anymore, things aren’t the easiest for my family, but we still have each other and that’s enough.”

Taehyun feels Minho’s hand take his own and can feel the tremble going through Minho. He goes to say something, but Minho shakes his head at him.

Minho can’t stop the anger that enters him, how badly he wishes he could have done something for Taehyun, for his family. He thinks back to when they were younger and how Taehyun had more bruises than he thought were normal. Taehyun had always excused it as being clumsy but while he may misstep here and there, Minho never thought he was the kind who was prone to getting hurt so much.

“You’re a good person, Taehyun.” Minho says at last. “And you don’t need to feel guilty for things you aren’t responsible for.”

Taehyun feels all kinds of messed up as he thinks about that, but Minho seems so sure of him that Taehyun can only smile weakly in return. Maybe he’s right, he wants to believe that.

Their gazes meet, and Minho twines their fingers together, for the first time considering that Taehyun just may be in fact real.

………….

 

_Taehyun_

 

 

Taehyun wakes up to see the ceiling of his room first, the events of what occurred in his dream still looping in his mind and he wonders if revealing that bit of himself to Minho was a good choice or not. “These are just dreams, right?” He asks himself. However, he can’t deny it does feel good to get that off his chest and warmth of Minho’s hand and his words still linger as he gets ready for school.

Taehyun doesn’t understand what comes over him that morning as he walks in on his mom making breakfast. He's taller than her now, by a lot so he places his hand on her shoulder. When she turns around she wishes him a good morning and he nods before saying a quiet, "I love you mom," it's comes out sounding little foreign on his tongue, but he means it. She looks taken aback at his sudden admission and he nods to leave her to her business, but she hugs him until he's sure his ribs are cracked.

He sees his little brother approaching the kitchen and watches as his face becomes confused at seeing their mom hugging him so tightly. Taehyun just waves him off and goes back to hugging his mom. For some reason he can’t help but wonder if maybe she’s needed this hug too.

………….

They have been best friends since they were kids, while others didn’t want to befriend Taehyun because of his attitude, Jinwoo saw right past that and boldly asked Taehyun if he wanted to be friends when he was alone at the swings. Everyone else looked at Jinwoo as if he was crazy but he didn’t care and waited for Taehyun’s answer with large doe eyes.

Taehyun at first rejected Jinwoo, thinking he was doing it out of pity, but once while he was making his way back to class, some other kids were giving him a hard time. Taehyun was just about to step in but Jinwoo stood his ground and chased them away, even threatening he knew someone who could take them out for good measure. For such a pretty-looking boy, Jinwoo could be quite scary when he’s mad. It was enough reason to intrigue Taehyun and he’ll never forget the way Jinwoo threw himself over him so happily when he apologized and asked if they could still be friends.

Then Seungyoon came along when he moved in next door to Taehyun. They instantly got along, sharing a lot of the same interests, and he even introduced Jinwoo to Seungyoon when the other kept pestering him about his new neighbor. Seungyoon served as the middle man, somehow being the only person capable of handling Taehyun’s quirks and mood swings and Jinwoo’s curious but playful nature. And that’s how their friendship fell into place and they became a trio, sticking together through thick and thin.

Though, none of that can prepare Taehyun in all his fifteen years of living for what Jinwoo just dropped on him.

“Come again?” He asks, coughing after choking on his drink a bit.

They were in their favorite cafe, the smell of fresh sweet bread and brewing coffee filling the place and warming them up from the chilly weather outside. Jinwoo had invited Taehyun for breakfast before heading to school and had been ranting about a couple of things when Taehyun had thought he misheard Jinwoo.

“Which part? The one where I said people who claim to be cat lovers but don’t like hairless cats? Like they are obviously fake cat lovers if they can’t appreciate cats in their most purest form,” Jinwoo frowns, still peeved over the subject seeing as he recently adopted two sphinx cats and his parents weren’t too thrilled. “Or when I said I like Seungyoon?”

“The last part.” Taehyun says, lips pursing as he stares at Jinwoo. “What do you mean by you like him?” He knows his friend can be forgetful, but he doesn’t think Jinwoo would randomly come to the conclusion that he likes Seungyoon just now. “Did he also not approve of Rey and Bei?”

“What? No! He loves them as if they were his own kids,” he actually looks offended at the thought.

“Then why—"

“The sort of like I’m talking about is...y’know,” Jinwoo gestures with his hand but Taehyun just stares puzzlingly at his friend. Jinwoo sighs and leans over the table, lowering his voice. “Like how you’re supposed to feel about a girl, except with a boy.”

“Oh,” he nods, not really reacting to it how Jinwoo thought he would but then, “ _Oh_.” Taehyun repeats more firmly, seeming to understand now what Jinwoo meant.

“Yeah.” Jinwoo rests his cheek on the table, seeming to look like a kicked puppy.

“How?” Taehyun asks. “Have you told him that you...like him?”

“Are crazy? I just told you and that was because I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore.”

“Wow, thanks I feel so special.” Taehyun says dryly.

“Sorry,” Jinwoo picks his head up from the table and smiles apologetically at him. “And I don’t know, I think maybe I’ve always had these feelings for him, y’know? Like he makes me feel a whole bunch of things all the time but the one thing I’m sure of is that I like him.”

“That’s just...I mean I always thought you two had something but,” Taehyun scrunches his eyebrows together and looks at Jinwoo. “Why couldn’t it be me that you liked?”

Jinwoo lets out his signature loud laugh and shakes his head. “Only one of us can be the pretty one.”

“I’m not pretty,” Taehyun scoffs but Jinwoo just raises an eyebrow, eyeing his purple hair and eye makeup. There was no denying that even if Taehyun didn’t call himself a pretty boy, he did care about his looks.

“Yeah you are,” he says with a smile. “If I wasn’t totally and hopelessly in love with Seungyoon, I probably would have kissed you by now.”

Taehyun feels his cheeks flush but still rolls his eyes. “I have that effect on people.” He then leans back into his seat. “I still can’t believe it though.”

“What? That I like Seungyoon?”

“No, that’s...it sort of makes sense, you two have always stuck to each other.” Which was true, despite them all being best friends, Jinwoo and Seungyoon always seemed to be in their own little world at times but Taehyun didn’t feel left out. “I just feel as if I’m finding out you want to date my mom or something. Like Jinwoo, need I remind you who Seungyoon is?”

“Shut up,” Jinwoo laughs. “I will admit he nags us more than our own moms and can get annoying when doesn’t shut up about how I need to be more responsible, but I like him, I like the way he makes me feel.” He shrugs.

Taehyun smiles, genuinely happy and thinks about his own growing feelings for Minho and how even though there are times Minho does things that get on his nerves, he still likes all of him too.

“I think you should just ask him out, I can’t see him rejecting you.” Not with the way Taehyun always sees Seungyoon constantly touching or hugging Jinwoo, or the content look on his face whenever he listens to Jinwoo.

Jinwoo shakes his head, “What if I ruin our friendship? I don’t want to put that on the line.”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Taehyun says, reaching over to hold Jinwoo’s hand comfortingly. “Because you’d still have me.”

Jinwoo looks at him, sees the sureness in Taehyun’s face and smiles, “Thanks Taehyun.”

“No problem.” He goes to let go of their hands but Jinwoo tugs at him.

“Taehyun, can I ask you something else?”

“Jinwoo, we’ve known each other how long now?” His brow arches as he looks at his friend.

“I dunno, forever?”

“Since we were five. Of course you can ask me anything.” He says.

“Okay,” Jinwoo lets out a breath. “Would you mind dying my hair pink?”

Taehyun stares at him for a moment and then smiles, Jinwoo was too cute. “You really want to make a statement, huh?”

Jinwoo just laughs and squeezes their hands again in reply.

“I don’t mean to interrupt whatever it is you two have going on here but we’re going to be late to school if we don’t leave _now_.” Seungyoon’s voice breaks their little moment and the two let go of each other’s hands quickly.

Jinwoo and Taehyun both sigh and follow after their friend. It was weird how Seungyoon always seemed to know where to find the two of them.

As they make their way to school, Jinwoo throws Taehyun one last look and Taehyun raises his thumb up in encouragement. He didn’t miss the way Seungyoon seemed a bit jealous earlier when he saw their hands and thinks Jinwoo and his feelings will be returned just fine.

………….

Taehyun is starting to think Minho will never catch on to his feelings and it’s driving him a bit crazy. They’ve become touchier, often holding hands or leaning on the other the entire dream. Even their usual banter now seems to be flirtier and full of teasing. It all seems so much and Taehyun is tired of waking up frustrated at the obliviousness that is Minho.

The last dream had been almost a bliss to Taehyun, he was so close to just throwing caution to the wind and making a move.

They were both trying to pin the other down and rolled around in the sand while waves brushed against them. Minho may have been a bit bigger than him, but Taehyun still was stronger and had the other on his back under him.

As he looks down at Minho, their hands tangled into each other’s, Taehyun feels like he understands what Jinwoo means about knowing how he feels. There is warmth in his chest and it feels strangely nice. He leans down, pressing his ear against the left side of Minho’s chest, listens to the pulse as the other starts talking. All of this, Taehyun thinks, is a feeling that he’s sure of.

☾

Today had been a shitty day. For one, he got into a fight with some brainless idiot and second he was suspended. His jaw hurt a lot and his mom wasn’t too happy about the whole thing, but she gave him some medication to help with the pain and sent him off to his room to rest. He throws himself on his bed and slowly drifts to sleep.

When he opens his eyes again, Taehyun is in the woods close to his place and is surprised at the change of scenery. Figures it’s not a big deal and in fact feels like the right place he wants to be right now. He shoves his hands in his pocket and heads off into the woods, ducking around all the trees and branches as he makes his way through the familiar place. When he comes to the bank of the river, he sits down and looks out into the water. Trying to let go of all his anger from him earlier.

Taehyun sits there for some time till he hears someone struggling nearby and turns at the sound of a rock being kicked.

It’s Minho.

Any other day Taehyun would be happy to see him but right now he’s not in a good mood and doesn’t want the other around. “What are you doing here?" He says irritably.

Minho looks a little taken aback at his cold attitude but quickly recovers. “I, huh, just followed the sound."

Taehyun’s face momentarily shifts to confusion before remembering what Minho is referring to, the bell. "I'm not a bell."

He watches as Minho comes closer, not someone deterred by Taehyun’s moodiness. "I know, and I'm not trying to pick a fight with you so ease off the tension." Minho replies and sits down beside him.

Taehyun almost forgets why he’s even mad till Minho gently touches his jaw and a hiss escapes his lips.

“What's that on your face?"

"It's nothing." He bats Minho's hand away, and quickly turns away from him. Silently cursing himself as he touches the bruise and grimaces at the sting.

"It's not nothing. Did someone do that to you?"

Taehyun looks back to Minho when he hears the anger in his voice and sees the dark expression on his face. It reminds him of the time he told Minho about his dad and feels his heart tug a little at Minho’s protectiveness. He tries to avoid answering Minho’s questions but eventually gives in and tells him about the shit day he’s had.

“You should still be careful, the both of you." Minho says concernedly after Taehyun explains everything.

Taehyun scoffs, “Careful about what? If the guy is smart—which he obviously isn't, he’ll back off," He leans back to stare up at the clouds. "At least now he'll think twice before messing with me or my friends again."

"Why did he even do it in the first place?"

"Probably to get a reaction out of me. Both Seungyoon and Jinwoo are dating now but they don't pay attention to any of the stuff people say to them. Guess I was the next best target."

"Dating? As in boyfriends?" Minho says, eyes traveling down Taehyun’s face, then back up again.

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugs, it’s not really a big deal to him, they’re his friends after all.

His view is then blocked when Minho hovers over him, staring down with some sort of look Taehyun can’t decipher. His heartbeat is in his ears. Not because he’s nervous, or afraid or stressed or tense; rather, expectant. As Minho draws closer quietly, Taehyun doesn’t stop him at all and just closes his eyes as their lips press together softly.

………….

When Taehyun wakes up from his nap all he can think about is the press of Minho’s lips against his, he can still feel the sensation. Minho kissed him. He _kissed_ him!

He kissed him but then the dream had to end. Taehyun hopes that it isn’t because Minho ran away, he has so many questions he wants to ask the other but guesses he’ll have to wait the next night to ask.

☾

However, nearly three weeks pass when Taehyun is finally able to see Minho. At first, he feels so relieved and the words _I missed you_ almost slip out without thinking, but he quickly remembers that Minho has been avoiding him and picks up the closest thing near him and angrily throws it at him.

"The hell was that all about? You just go and do that and you run away!? You're such a coward!" At first the place was only cloudy, but the wind picks up as the sky darkens and rain begins to pour down rapidly. The weather seemingly matching his mood as he continues to yell and chuck everything within his reach at Minho till he’s cornered.

"Can we just forget it?" Minho pleads, eyeing Taehyun’s hands.

“Forget it?” Taehyun tries to ignore the way his stomach twists at hearing that. As if the kiss didn’t mean anything when _Minho_ was the one who kissed him? He feels his anger turn to hurt but quickly masks it by throwing even more rocks at Minho. “You’re such a fucking asshole!”

They’re both drenched from the rain by now and Minho looks angry, "I'm sorry, it just kind of happened!" He snaps back.

"'Just kind of happened,' that's such a lame answer," He throws one last rock at Minho before leaning against the tree he’s backed him into. "Asshole.” Taehyun huffs out.

For a moment everything is so tense between them as they look at each other. Then Taehyun leans forward and Minho meets him halfway. The touch of their lips is electrifying and Taehyun can feel how much Minho’s wanted this too. The kiss is sweet and slow at first, bodies still separated. But it’s Minho who pulls Taehyun closer, brings him forward. The gasp that breaks out from Taehyun’s mouth doesn’t break the kiss; it only turns it deeper. Minho licks his upper lip and Taehyun feels like he’s melting. Nothing else seems to matter at that moment and yet everything does.

Later after they hash everything out, Minho tells Taehyun about how he wanted to confirm his feelings for him by kissing a random girl (he doesn’t understand the logic in there but also doesn’t have the heart to tell Minho that), but it didn’t go so well and resulted in him getting a black eye from her boyfriend.

Taehyun wonders for a moment why he chose to fall for someone like Minho but is reminded when Minho looks at him with such a beautiful smile. Taehyun wants to kiss him again.

The look on his face must be very telling because Minho cups his cheek and closes the distance between them, this time there is no hesitancy.

Taehyun doesn’t really know what this means for them, but despite it all he’s never felt more happier in his life than with Minho on top of that cliff as they continue to kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of the 4 bonus chapters, there will also be a epilogue, till next time!


	12. Need You Closer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before chapter 10 and a little after chapter 9.

The dream begins in a way that’s similar to waking up, but that’s the only normalcy off it.

 Minho’s eyes slowly open to stare up at what was formerly his ceiling to now a canopy of stars glittering above him. He quickly sits up to take in the view and what he sees is a nebula. A blue nebula. So beautiful it's as if he's seeing the whole universe in front of his eyes with the way the blue hues outlined the endless arch of the night sky.

 He doesn’t even realize he’s levitating off his bed, but as he outstretches his hand, the clouds overhead part and the subtle tilt of the sky becomes more pronounced as he reaches forward. His hands cupping what looked like millions of tiny diamonds as they shimmered and glistened in his palms.

 “This isn't a dream,” Taehyun’s voice suddenly cuts in, causing Minho to release the stars in his hands and watch as they scatter away, almost as if watching glitter spill from its container into the floor in a shimmery mess.

 He looks to see Taehyun levitating upwards to where he is, and gently takes Minho’s hand and pulls him back down. “Then what is it?” Minho questions, looking back to stare at the stars momentarily.

Taehyun copies him, his face tilted skyward but he doesn’t respond immediately. Their feet come to a standstill as they touch down, lightly reaching the floor again as if they were feathers. “What do you think it is?” Taehyun asks, and smiles.

Minho glances back up one again but the canopy above them blackens considerably, so much that Minho thinks they’re going to be swallowed up by the vastness of it all. Looking back to Taehyun, he finds it hard to decipher the other from the dark abyss as his face becomes shadowed. Minho feels a shiver roll down his back, not really liking the darkness of the place without the stars, it makes him want to run the opposite way to where he can find light, but he doesn’t move away.

Movement catches his eyes and he sees Taehyun’s form shifting away from him. “Are you coming?” Taehyun asks, when Minho remains silent. He sees an almost translucent hand outstretched towards him, despite the normal reaction for Minho to take it, he finds himself slightly hesitating.

Seeming to sense his reluctance, Taehyun drops his hand and continues to walk ahead of him. “Are you coming?” Taehyun asks again, the call echoing through the empty air as it arrives at Minho’s ears.

“This is just a dream, right?” Minho asks as they make their way out of the dark room. “Taehyun?” He tries not to hold uncertainty in his voice, but it slips out anyway.

Taehyun remains quiet as he opens the door and they step out into a hallway that isn’t the one from Minho’s apartment. It looks old, and dusty, the few lights hanging faintly flicker throughout and make Minho move slowly with caution as he looks around. As if expecting some kind of monster or knife-wielding masked man to pop out and scare the living shit out of him.

He bumps into something, thinking it was Taehyun and looks over, preparing to deflect an apology, but Taehyun isn’t next to him anymore. There is at least a meter of space between them, and Minho stalls for a moment, seeming to be unable to move. “Taehyun, wait—” Minho trips over his feet as he tries to make sense of the situation but Taehyun keeps moving forward, not waiting for him to catch up.

The hallway leading to some sort of door stretches long, unending. The silence is so loud Minho has to resist the urge to clamp his hands over his ears, and instead forces himself to dig his fingers into the broken-down plaster of the walls and push himself forward despite how much his body is protesting for him to turn back.

When he reaches midway, he stops. His legs are fatigued, weighed down by a pressure that Minho can’t see, only feel. Taehyun is further down the hallway, panting. He’s leaning against a damaged door, flakes of white settling in his hair and his clothes. Taehyun appears almost ghostly to Minho and as he tries to get a better look at the other. He isn’t sure if he’s imagining it or not but the Taehyun in this dream looks a lot like his younger self than the current Taehyun Minho knows.

“What are you doing?” he asks, and Taehyun unconsciously tightens his grip on the doorknob, testing if it is unlocked. “I’m going this way.”

Despite the confusion he feels about everything, Minho can sense something not right about that door and shakes his head, “That’s a dead end.” He points out.

“I’m still going,” Taehyun replies, like that explains everything. He turns and continues down the path, the floor widening and paving itself as his feet tread forward. Minho swears under his breath, and follows him until the pressure gets too much to bear.

There is a darkness beneath them. Minho can feel it with his feet, the tips of his toes numb and faintly tingly, rooted to a surface that his eyes can’t, or don’t want to, decipher.

“Taehyun, Taehyun! Wait where are you going?” Minho yells out but Taehyun doesn’t give him a straight answer; he points to pinpricks of light in the distance and continues to walk away. Panic and dread settle into the pit of his stomach and Minho quickens his steps. Running and tripping over himself as he calls out for Taehyun. He can feel his legs bruising from falling repeatedly on his knees as he watches the image of Taehyun grow fainter till he’s a mere speck.

“Taehyun!” _Don’t leave me...not again._

☾

He’s pulled from the dream like a bottle uncorked, the stopper in the scenario being Minho himself. Minho awakens in a cold sweat, his arm stretched out in the air. For a minute what remains of the dream is painted, twisting like smoke, onto the dark ceiling. He wipes his forehead with the back of his hand as his breathing calms down, shivering as the cool air meets his warm tanned skin. The images of his dream (more like nightmare) fading away but still leaving him feeling unsettled about it. Turning to his side, he relaxes at the sight in front of him. Taehyun is almost hanging off the bed but he looks peaceful as he continues to sleep, hardly making any noise.

He gently combs Taehyun’s hair back and slides out of bed as slowly as he can and makes his way down the hall to the bathroom and splashes some cold water into his face with a heavy sigh. Looking at his reflection, Minho notes the dark circles under his eyes and he sighs again. He hasn’t been sleeping properly for the past few nights and even asked Taehyun to sleepover the night before just to help a bit. “Guess it didn’t work.” He mutters to himself.

A part of Minho wants to assume it could be due to these dreams he’s been getting lately and not anything minuscule that he can work around like stress. His dreams have been nonsensical since Taehyun stopped appearing in them but the past few nights have featured some form of Taehyun from their past that ends with Minho trying to follow after him but always out of reach. _It feels like I’m trying to chase a ghost_. Minho thinks to himself.

He turns back to the mirror and streaks his hand across his reflection before he dries his face off with a hand towel. He was going to have to learn to control what he was dreaming, or come clean to Taehyun at some point. Maybe that’s why the dreams were only building and why he was growing restless. Minho knows it’s the right thing to do, yet he worries that Taehyun will think he’s to blame for causing this insecurity. Somewhere in the depths of his mind where he keeps everything locked up, Minho fears that he’s fabricated this beautiful and terrible image of them meeting in real life and when he wakes up Taehyun won’t be there beside him.

However, as he steps back into the room he can see just the tuff of brown hair sticking out from beneath the bundle of covers on his bed and it relinquishes all of Minho’s former thoughts in a heartbeat. Slipping back under the sheets, Minho brings Taehyun more to the center of the bed and presses up against him, fumbling hand searching blindly for Taehyun’s own and ending up groping him a couple of times. The action seems to wake Taehyun up as he stirs and shifts in front of him as Minho finally manages to find Taehyun’s hand and throws an arm around his waist for good measure.

“If you wanted to cop a feel, you could ask first. What are you doing?” Taehyun asks, voice laced heavily with sleep and eyebrows furrowing together. He doesn’t really mind Minho touching him but he’s also not in the mood for any late-night action.

Minho doesn’t reply and instead buries his face into the nape of Taehyun’s neck, inhaling his scent and feeling his body relax little by little.

At the lack of a response, Taehyun turns over to face him. The sheets rustling as Taehyun shifts both their bodies, Minho’s arms still firmly wrapped around him as he worms his legs between his. Taehyun has no idea what’s got Minho acting this way but his right hand comes up to Minho’s face to push back the bangs covering his boyfriend’s face. “What are you doing?” He repeats after a minute or so.

“Hmm.” Minho hums, tilting his head more to the side. He’s close enough to feel Taehyun’s heartbeat, close enough for his breathing to fan across his face. “Listening to your heartbeat.”

“My heartbeat?” Taehyun’s hand hangs for a moment. Minho makes a noise of complaint and Taehyun appeases him by continuing the soothing rhythm of his hand on his head. “Why?” He asks and lets out a laugh that goes through his whole body, making Minho smile as he feels that too.

He just shrugs in answer and proceeds to cling against Taehyun until the heat of his body is practically seeping into Taehyun as well. It’s still dark out and the weather is dropping day by day but Taehyun doesn’t mind the extra warmth his boyfriend’s body is offering and cuddles closer to him.

“You’re very quiet,” Taehyun muses after some time, stretching luxuriously as Minho loosens their embrace, both swaddled in the blankets they took out to escape the cold weather. “Just spit it out, it’s no good to keep things bottled up.”

“What makes you think I was even going to say anything?” Minho protests.

Taehyun glances at him sideways before tilting his head back into the pillows, eyelids fluttering shut. “I can see it on your face.”

Minho goes to say something but stops as he admires the other male in front of him. He can see a bit of smudged eyeliner at the corners of Taehyun’s eyes he probably missed and even with the minimal lighting provided by the star-shaped light in his room, Minho can still count a couple of the light freckles scattered across his cheeks. All that combined with the sound of Taehyun’s constant heartbeat and steady breathing is enough to convince Minho of how completely, utterly content he is just laying here with Taehyun. And pushes him to say the next words:

“It’s me.”

Taehyun cracks an eye open. “What?”

Minho blinks rapidly, before sitting up straight in bed. Taehyun watching him maneuver expressionlessly, only a slight dip in his brow betraying his concentration, his focus.

“What’s been bothering me these past few nights, why I’m having trouble sleeping, it’s me.” He confesses. “Or at least I think it has to be me because there’s no way you would be feeling this way.”

Taehyun looks at Minho with some confusion before understanding sinks in. Sitting up as well, Taehyun cups Minho’s face to make the other look at him. He can see Minho’s eyes are watery and is flooded with concern. “Minho,” the pads of his fingers slide across the other’s cheek, eyes flickering back and forth as tears threatened to slip out. “Don’t hold back, just let it out.”

Minho buries his head into the crook of Taehyun’s shoulder, his arms circling around the other’s waist. They sit for some time in silence, letting the presence of each other comfort their being. Taehyun doesn’t say anything when he begins to feel a dampness through his pullover, instead tightening their embrace and letting Minho pour all his pent up emotions out.

A similar scene plays out in Taehyun’s mind as he recalls the times back in their dreams where he used to tease the other for being a crybaby but knows Minho only sheds this amount of tears when he can no longer keep it in anymore. And since Minho feels uncomfortable explaining why, he’ll cry it out until Taehyun coaxes him into talking.

He does just that and lets Minho weep out his emotions until his boyfriend’s tears subside and he details to Taehyun about the dreams he’s been having. Taehyun listens attentively and when Minho’s done he releases a sigh. “I’m sorry,” he says and gives him a weary smile. “I didn’t expect to cry so much.”

Taehyun shakes his head and wipes the remnants of Minho’s tears with the sleeve of his pullover. “It’s okay, you have nothing to apologize for, you can’t always control what you dream. I would know.” He tries to joke, and Minho gives him a weak grin at that.

“I know...but it just feels so fucked up to feel this way. Like I’ve always hoped you were out there somewhere and I just needed to find you and now,” he pauses to stare at Taehyun, feeling his throat constrict. “Now that I do I don’t want to let you go, which sounds so selfish, but you’ve been the best thing to happen in my life and I don’t want that to end.” He lays back down and runs a hand through his hair, trying to suppress the shakiness of his voice.

“Hey,” Taehyun draws Minho’s attention back to him as he lays on top of chest. “We can’t blame what we didn’t know, weren’t you the one who told me that the night we met?” Minho nods and slips his warm fingers inside Taehyun's shirt and caresses his back up and down.

“We shouldn’t waste this opportunity we’ve been given by focusing on the past. Those dreams you’re having? They’re aren’t dreams Minho, you were having nightmares.” Taehyun says quietly. He presses his forehead against Minho’s as he continues, knowing the next words are what Minho needs to hear, to reassure him. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. It’s just you and me. That’s all we’ve ever needed, right?”

“Yeah,” He leans in closer and wraps his arms around Taehyun’s waist. "Thank you," he murmurs, smiling gratefully at Taehyun. "I totally don't deserve you, you know that?" Minho presses a gentle kiss to his cheek and then catches his lips. Taehyun was right about it being just them, it’s always been them. No doubt they both relied on each other in the past and that was still very present, but the difference was that they physically had each other now and didn’t have to rely on their dreams to convey what they felt. Fate had given them a chance to redeem what their dreams couldn’t, and they weren’t going to let it slip from them again.

“You know you’re enough for me, right?” Taehyun tells Minho as they pull away from the tender lip lock, slipping his fingers between Minho’s. “More than enough.” He kisses their linked hands.

Minho feels an overwhelming sense of love come over him at the display and he smiles fondly at Taehyun, “I love you.”

Taehyun’s eyes widen momentarily at the sudden confession but then soften and glisten. He can see the sincerity shining in those familiar, warm brown eyes. Minho pulls him tightly to his chest, hugging him firmly in his arms. “I love you too,” Taehyun says at last, letting his tears fall freely even as he smiled at Minho, love and admiration swelling in his chest.

“Why are you crying?” Minho asks, but there is a smile to his lips as he watches Taehyun try and collect himself.

“You just caught me off guard, okay don’t be so full of yourself.” Taehyun wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand, hitting his fist gently against Minho’s chest.

“Oh and here I thought I really touched you.” Taehyun lets out a small laugh as Minho switches their positions. He buries his face into Taehyun’s stomach, feeling the way the muscles contract as Taehyun laughs. Minho smiles and lifts his shirt up a bit, pressing a kiss to the flatness of his belly and liking how Taehyun’s laugh chokes a little at the unsuspecting action.

They stay that way for some time, simply enjoying the presence of the other. Spending a majority of the night talking about parts of their lives. Sometimes crying, holding each other, laughing at the insane mishaps, lingering kisses, and understanding one another. Both giving the other their full attention and never once holding anything back. It reminds them of one of their first dates, in which they randomly told stories but this one feels ten times better, and way more intimate.

Taehyun even sings bits of a song he’s been working as Minho plays with their hands, moving them along to Taehyun’s sweet voice. “Are you worried you’ll still have nightmares after this?” Taehyun asks after a while, observing their linked hands and they seemed to be dancing.

“I don’t know.” Minho admits quietly, their hands halting as he thinks of the possibility of waking up from another nightmare. He’d very much liked to avoid that happening.

“I'm here to protect you, so don't worry," Taehyun says with a hum, settling more comfortably once again as Minho pulls the covers over them.

Minho snorts amusingly. “Good,” he breathes out. “Pretty heavy talk, don’t you think? How many weeks is it now?”

“Five weeks.” Taehyun answers. “Don’t think about it too much, just sleep," he murmurs quietly, his hand coming up to run through Minho’s hair in a comforting manner. “I’ve got you.”

“You do?” Minho smiles and eyes begin to flutter close at the sensation. His breathing eventually slipping back into the quiet snore Taehyun has been growing accustomed to.

Taehyun watches Minho for a bit, brushing back some of his hair from his face and taking note of the growing out roots. He presses a light kiss against his forehead and noses at Minho’s neck as he gets comfortable in their embrace. "I've got you…" He repeats before closing his eyes.

………….

A month passes by and no nightmares have occurred since then. Minho jokes to Taehyun that he must really be protecting him in his sleep since they often spend most nights sleeping together. In fact so much so that the couple alternates between both of their places, and the times one isn’t sleeping over is spent late into the night talking or video calling on the phone until they’re practically falling asleep on the other. Sometimes even staying up with the other to keep them company as they worked on a composition or design.

“It feels like I’m either living here by myself or I have a new roommate!” Seunghoon tells Minho as he’s preparing breakfast for them. He had already fed his precious Haute and seeing that Minho was hopeless in the kitchen spared the other from begging him.

Minho just mindlessly nods in reply, still trying to wake up and smiles in thanks when Seunghoon places a cup of hot coffee right in front of him.

Just then Taehyun strolls in, newly dyed blonde hair disheveled and face still bloated from sleep. “Morning, Seunghoon.” Taehyun says as takes a seat beside Minho, who presses a kiss against Taehyun’s temple in greeting.

“Good morning, my other lovely roommate!” Seunghoon replies, ruffling Taehyun’s hair before going back to cooking.

Taehyun’s brows furrow as he gives Seunghoon’s back a confused look and turns to Minho questioningly.

Minho just shrugs and goes back to sipping on his coffee sleepily. “Coffee?” He gestures with his mug.

Taehyun shakes his head and instead runs his hand through Minho’s hair. His boyfriend had been letting the dye run its course and while Minho managed to maintain it without looking bad, Taehyun thought he could use a retouch at the very least.

“Can you meet up for lunch later?” Minho asks, bringing Taehyun back from his musings.

“Uh, hold on.” He pulls out his phone to see what his schedule is like for the day and sees he’s booked for studio time at the time they usually go for lunch. “Not today, but do you want to go out for dinner instead?”

“Ah, that’s why I was asking if you wanted to have lunch since I have to stay late today. I’m close to finishing the sketches I want to submit for the show in spring and I’m going to have to make sure the fabrics I want to use are available before I can even get to making any garments.”

“Oh,” Taehyun nods in understanding, ready to tell Minho it’s fine when an idea struck him. “Y’know I don’t work today so I can just pick something up and we can eat at your work if its allowed?”

Minho puts his mug down and looks at Taehyun like he just told him about the eighth wonders of the world. “That sounds great! I can even show you around.” He says, suddenly looking more awake than he did in the last ten minutes.

The couple begin to talk about food preferences which soon changes to an exchange of flirty touches and shared jokes, completely forgetting about Seunghoon’s existence when he tells them the food is ready.

Seunghoon knows the couple can get so wrapped up in their own little world that they hardly pay attention to their surroundings. While it can be annoying at times, he mostly finds it endearing. He never expected someone like Taehyun to be the type for Minho to date but after getting to know the other and seeing the way the couple interacts he can honestly say that they balance each other out a lot better than he expected.

“Enough,” he slams his spatula down onto the table, startling the couple. “Your food, that I worked hard to make, has been sitting in front of you for almost five minutes now! Get to eating.”

Taehyun smiles sheepishly while Minho picks up his chopsticks and begins scarfing down the food.

“Thanks, Hoony!” Minho says with a mouthful of rice, a big grin made rounder with his stuffed cheeks.

Seunghoon just shakes his head with sigh, a small smile on his lips as he sits down and joins the duo in their next conversation as they all eat.

________

It’s late and only a couple of areas around the entire office are lit up as employees work to complete their own individual tasks. Winter may just be starting but everyone always has to think ahead because the current trend can be over within a week and if they aren’t up to date they might as well kiss their careers goodbye.

Minho is currently alone in one of the workshop rooms with a whole table filled out with different patterns and fabrics he specifically picked out, his designs laid beside them. He had told his team they could go home not long ago after getting all the materials he needed from the fabric manufacturers. Tomorrow they would officially begin creating the designs he’s worked on for the last two weeks. If they came out exactly as he hoped and met his superiors’ approval, they would be included in the Spring collection and be featured in the show they’d be having. Or at least that’s what Jiyong told him last month after their meeting, needless to say Minho wanted to impress them all.

As he places the sketches next to the materials for visual references he hears a knock on the door and looks up to see Sana peek her head in with a sweet smile. “Minho, I’m sorry to bother you but there is someone here to see you.”

Minho looks confused for a moment until he looks back at the clock hanging on the wall and sees just how late it is. An apologetic smile makes its way to his face. “Ah, I guess I let the time slip by. Bring them in!”

Sana opens the door fully and steps aside to let the blonde male with angular yet soft features through. Minho’s smile widens as Taehyun steps in, black turtleneck paired with a red plaid wool long coat matching well with his blonde hair.

“Hey,” Taehyun says and lifts his arms up to reveal to Minho what he’s carrying. Minho recognizes the logo from his favorite restaurant and beams at Taehyun.

“You’re the best! Seriously how did you know I’ve been craving this?” Minho walks over to Taehyun and gives him a chaste kiss.

“I know I am.” Taehyun replies, patting Minho’s cheek. “They even gave me two extra plates, said one wouldn’t satisfy you.”

Sana looks between the two curiously as they share a laugh, smile still on her lips. “And here I thought it was a little odd for a model to come in so late...”

“Model?” Taehyun raises an eyebrow amusingly and looks to Minho who’s trying to stifle a laugh.

“Actually Sana,” Minho wraps an arm around Taehyun and pulls him closer. “This is Taehyun. My boyfriend that I was telling you about, remember?”

“Oh!” Sana’s mouth forms into an adorable little ‘o’ and she extends her hand in a friendly manner. “Hello there, Minho always talks about you during breaks, but he never mentioned just how beautiful you are!”

“Thank you,” Taehyun smiles shyly at her as he takes her hand, somehow liking her compliment a lot more than he expected.

“I’ll leave you two to it then. Nice to meet you again, Taehyun.” She turns to Minho and lightly slaps his chest. “Bring him around more! Don’t keep him to yourself.”

Minho ducks his head and nods. “I’ll try.”

“You better!” She laughs and waves bye to Taehyun before stepping back out.

“She’s cute.” Taehyun says once Sana is gone. “I usually don’t find myself easily charmed when I first meet a person but wow.”

“She has that effect on people.” Minho agrees as he takes their food into another table that’s less crowded. “No matter what she does she always manages to make anyone fall for her, it really is incredible.”

He goes on to explain a little more on how they met and the close friendship they formed as they eat.

“She seems kind of fitting for you,” Taehyun muses, hand cupping his chin as he leans against the table.

Minho just chuckles and cups Taehyun’s face. “Maybe so,” that earns him a jab in the stomach, but he brings Taehyun’s face closer, their lips brushing against each other’s softly. “But I think we make a better match.”

________

After showing Taehyun around a bit when they finished eating, Minho adds the last touches while explaining a few things to Taehyun.

Taehyun all the while watches contently, liking how passionate Minho gets about his work as well as impressed by what he’s come up with. As Minho leans over to secure everything is in its place before locking the place up for the night, he feels something, or someone, press up against his back.

“Hey,” Taehyun noses against his neck, arms wrapping around him.

“Hm?” Minho turns his head to the side and sees only the top of Taehyun’s blonde hair sticking out and smiles.

“Wanna come over to my place tonight? We can do whatever you want.”

Minho’s only reply is to turn him around and kiss him hard.

Once they make it back to Taehyun’s apartment Minho drags him to his room and they begin to strip each other as fast as they can until they’re only clad in their boxers. As soon as Taehyun’s shirt is removed and his chest meets Minho’s own naked one he sucks in a breath.

Minho swipes his tongue over Taehyun’s bottom lip before helping him step out of his pants. The kiss starts to get messy and Taehyun makes a move to take off his boxers. Minho stops him before his hand can reach the underwear and he whines. Minho kisses his cheek and whispers, “Shh, let me take care of you.”

His fingers find purchase when they slip under the waistband of his boxers, touching Taehyun’s skin where his hipbones dip into his pelvis. He knows that Taehyun is particularly sensitive around his hips, so he lingers there, taking his time and pressing his lips against the hot skin above Taehyun’s waist. Smiling when he hears Taehyun’s breathing pattern become irregular.

He grabs him by the waist, pushing Taehyun down onto his stomach on the bed, his toes just brushing the floor. Minho drags Taehyun’s hips a little higher, enough that Taehyun’s knees almost leave the bed, toes sliding over the sheets as he tries to adjust. Minho’s breath feels painfully hot against the small of Taehyun’s back.

Taehyun hears himself make a soft noise that sounds far too close to a whimper, and pushes his face down against the pillows. Minho groans, pressing his mouth wetly to the base of Taehyun’s spine, his lips dragging his against the creamy skin. He picks his head up from the pillows to make eye contact with Minho when he feels him move his knee to press against his growing erection. “Minho please!" He cries out and then howls when he feels a hand slam down on his ass.

"Please what?" Taehyun is panting into the mattress and can hardly let out what he wants Minho to do to him. He gets another swat on his ass and tilts over more. "I'm waiting Taehyun."

"Please...eat me out!" The second those words leave his mouth, Minho is yanking his boxers down over his ass in no time, the fabric tight across his thighs, but giving Minho enough room to do what he wants. He spreads Taehyun’s thighs, telling him to keep them open before he gets his hands on the round cheeks of Taehyun’s ass. They are perfect against Minho’s hands, perky and pale, so much so that Minho can’t help himself as he gives both sides a quick swat once again, leaving the skin warm and pink with Taehyun groaning with the sharp sting, grinding his hard cock into the bed.

"You're so damn pretty," Minho says, because it's true. The arch of Taehyun’s back, the muscles of his shoulders, the way his head hangs down and Minho can hear him moaning at his words. He pulls Taehyun’s cheeks apart and admires the sight of his little hole, pink and twitching and it's only a second before Minho is diving down, running his tongue over him, and Taehyun is practically sobbing and has to shove his head into the bedding, biting at the sheets to keep quiet as Minho licks him open. He gets him wet, spitting onto his hole, leaning back to rub it in with his thumb, pressing against skin, and feeling it want to give beneath him.

Taehyun arches and rolls his hips, thrusts his ass back towards Minho as an invitation and Minho figures it would be rude to ignore it. It's amazing how easily Taehyun opens up for him, how he relaxes and moans as Minho licks and licks until Taehyun is good and wet and he can press his tongue inside. He's hot and tight around him, moaning above him and thrusting back against his face trying to get more. Minho holds his hips down, listens to Taehyun whine right before he's pressing in deeper, wriggling his tongue in a manner that gets Taehyun gasping, moaning again and having to muffle his sounds into the bed.

In rebellion, Taehyun reaches back and grabs Minho’s head, pushing him harder against his ass. Minho sees no reason to complain and simply presses his tongue in deeper, licking and licking until he pulls away for a breath, bites gently at sensitive skin as he does so. Taehyun’s grinding down harder against the mattress, his poor rhythm lost already which must mean he's close. Minho almost wants to flip Taehyun over and look at his pretty red cock straining still against his boxers, most likely completely soaked in the front with precum.

He groans into Taehyun’s skin, feels the bottom below him jerk, the muscles under his hands tighten, and Minho doesn't waste another second dipping back in, feeling the way Taehyun clenches around his tongue and he humps the mattress further, grinds his cock down and does his best to fuck back against Minho’s tongue, get more of that feeling that he desperately wants as he chases his orgasm.

When Taehyun finally comes, he's just barely able to contain his scream in the mattress. His back arches as he thrusts with all his might back against Minho’s face, grinds hard against him and flutters around the feeling of Minho’s tongue fucking him out. Minho licks him through it, laps over and over again at Taehyun’s loosened hole until Taehyun pushes his head away and rolls over onto his back, breathing heavy. His neck and chest are flushed pink, his cheeks a matching shade, and looking down at him Minho fears he's never seen anything more beautiful. There really isn't anyone like Taehyun.

Minho isn't even aware of his hands running down every part of Taehyun, touching the beauty mark under the left side of his eye, admiring the light freckles scattered on his cheeks, and then moving down his neck to his pink erect nipples. Taehyun shivers as he feels Minho touching him all over, his hands lingering and teasing his nipples so wonderfully Taehyun has to bite his lip hard not to whimper when Minho pulls away, but it's only so he can take off the rest of his clothes. Taehyun can now see how hard and leaking Minho is and groans with want.

"Do you want me to touch myself?" Taehyun whispers a soft yes, so low he almost thinks Minho didn’t hear him but Minho catches it. He wraps his hand around his cock and begins to pump it, increasing his pace slowly.

Taehyun feels himself begin to stiffen again as Minho grows. Minho also doesn't bother to hold back all the sounds he makes; Taehyun can hear him panting and sees him biting his lip as he pumps faster. "Stop!" Minho lets go. His cock is fully erect and dripping but makes no show of how hard it is to hold back because his eyes tell all. Taehyun is sure he is just as hard.

He twists around and exposes his ass to Minho, feeling the other bending him over more. Minho spits into the palm of his hand and strokes his cock a good amount before leaning down to lick Taehyun’s hole again. He slips in one finger and Taehyun cries out.

Minho kisses his inner thigh and grips his waist firmly. “Feeling good?”

“Mmmgh,” he can’t say anything coherent. It hurts, but in a good way. This isn’t the first time they’ve fucked, he’s used to this. He knows the pain will subside soon, so he raises his hips a little and gives Minho a small nod. Pleased, Minho pushes his finger in deeper and wiggles it around. He pulls nearly all the way only to thrust back in smoothly, continuing in a slow rhythm.

By now, Minho has worked in two fingers and Taehyun practically melts each time he curves his fingers and scissors him and switches up from licking and sucking at his hole. He stops trying to muffle his voice because no one will hear. "Take me." Taehyun whispers dreamily and the _yes_ he hears from Minho is filled with so much want he shivers as he feels Minho press his body against his and spread his cheeks.

Taehyun cries out as the familiar pain and pleasure enters his body as Minho rocks into him. Minho slides his slicked-up cock inside of him and hits his prostate dead on. Taehyun throws his head back and moans filthily, baring his throat because he knows Minho likes to kiss him there. Somehow his kink for neck kisses and Minho’s weird fetish for his neck balance out pretty well, and he shivers at the way Minho’s hot breath feels against his neck as his boyfriend picks up the pace. The pleasure is raw, just shy of pain, and Taehyun welcomes it. He reaches out for Minho then, grabs onto the back of his neck and pulls him in for a needy kiss.

Minho’s cock continues to hit his prostate with each thrust and Taehyun can’t stop himself from moaning loudly. The sound is muffled by Minho’s tongue in Taehyun’s mouth, his trembling fingers trace a path around Minho’s neck as he continues to fuck him through it. He grabs one of Minho’s hand that’s been holding his hips and places it around his throat. Minho catches Taehyun’s intention and wraps his hand around his throat tighter. He can feel the blood pulsing through the artery just underneath the skin of Taehyun’s throat and makes sure not to put a lot of strength in his hold as he increases the pace of his thrusts.

Taehyun feels his breathing become more shallow with Minho’s tighter grip and closes his eyes as the pleasure builds up inside. His body spasms when Minho’s other hand comes to warp around his abdomen and pulls him closer to his chest, making Minho’s cock slam harder into him. He feels his eyes stinging with tears due to the intensity of Minho’s thrusts and he’s pretty sure he’s crying out for Minho to fuck him harder but can barely hear himself as he pays more attention to Minho breathing against the side of his neck and ear.

“Fuck, you feel so good.” Minho groans out as he hits Taehyun’s prostate over and over again. Just as he feels himself reaching orgasm, Minho abruptly flips Taehyun over and starts to hammer into him more determinedly. Minho had liked their previous position because of how deep he could go but he could feel himself coming and wanted to see Taehyun’s face.

Their pace quickens, each thrust becoming stronger and more intense as they reached for their release. Taehyun clings onto Minho tighter, hands going up to his shoulders and anchoring in his hair when Minho bottoms out and then hits his prostate. Taehyun is yelling now, the raw pleasure burning at the edges of his mind, filled with breathy moans and lots of _please, please, please, fuck there!_ and _faster Minho, oh god_. His voice going straight to Minho’s ears and sending more sensations through him as he bucks his hips up, his cock rubbing against both their abdomens.

Minho still has a hand wrapped around Taehyun’s throat and squeezes lightly as he presses down, hearing Taehyun let out a choke sob before arching his back and mewing. His eyes are glassy, but he holds Minho’s gaze as his boyfriend picks up a faster rhythm. The bed rattles with their movements, their loud moans echoing in the empty apartment. Minho’s other hand scoops around Taehyun’s thrashing hips, making his lower body rise and bringing them chest to chest. Taehyun bears the hard thrusts and lets out another choked sob as he feels himself reaching his climax.

Taehyun comes without his cock even being touched, crying out Minho’s name. Minho kisses him through it, soft soothing kisses as he tenderly looks at Taehyun. He isn't sure when Minho takes his hand away from his throat, but now they're on the pillow above his head, clasped in his own hands. Their fingers entwined and Taehyun can still feel the sensation of them around him. It doesn't take much longer for Minho to come. Looking down at Taehyun and seeing the way his skin is flushed beautifully, blonde hair sticking to his forehead and completely disheveled, he looks like an angel and it’s enough of a visual stimulation to leave him gasping his pleasure against Taehyun’s neck in between open-mouthed kisses.

However, the night's not over yet. Minho is made aware of this as Taehyun’s leg comes up and steadies itself on his shoulder, letting Minho slip in even more into him. Minho groans against the other's chest as he feels himself getting hard again. Taehyun was right about letting him do whatever he wanted tonight. And boy did they have the rest of the night to do just that.

________

"That...was..."

"Shh..." Taehyun hushes the amazed male beside him, chest still heaving for much needed air while his ears drummed with his erratic heartbeat. His throat hurts a bit from all the screaming he did earlier and swallows a couple of times as his breathing evens out. The light sheen of sweat begins to dry while the complexion of his skin remains thoroughly flushed. Strands of blonde hair uncomfortably stick to his skin as the rest remained in utter disarray splayed upon the wrinkled sheets.

Minho’s eyes glanced over at Taehyun, pleasantly surprised by the light somewhat sheepish chuckle that escapes past those bruised lips. A weary hand comes to stifle his laughter, but the damage has been done. It’s contagious as Minho can’t help but laugh himself.

Even when Taehyun feels boneless, muscles pulled like sweet taffy, and his entire body aching wonderfully, a completely satisfied smile graces his features. Before he knows it, he feels searching fingers brushing against his, and though his limbs are weighed down by fatigue, his fingers automatically intertwined with Minho’s.

Taehyun turns to his side and lets Minho pull him into his chest. He runs his fingers up and down Minho’s spine and, after a few minutes, Minho presses his lips to that same spot on Taehyun’s forehead he loves and leaves them there. Time might as well not exist at all as they lie there all tangled together.

"I have to ask you a serious question." Minho breaks the silence after a while.

Taehyun raises his brows curiously, causing them to appear droopier. "What's that?"

Minho sucks in a deep breath and then releases it. "Would you still want me...even if I became bald?"

He stares at Minho dumbfounded as he lets his words sink in. His first response is to laugh so hard till his stomach hurts because of how serious Minho is being but he figures he owes him a proper answer if he's this worried about his impending hair loss situation. "Of course I would. Your hair isn't a deal breaker for me, you just need to stop dying it to death!" He tugs at a few strands and Minho cries out in pain. Taehyun apologizes with a small peck, "and if you want we can just insure in mine." He says, flipping his hair back and forth in display, locks bouncing every direction.

Minho snickers at that before his face softens, "For you, it would have to be everything."

Taehyun smiles at his compliment and cups Minho's face into his hands, pressing a lingering, but also assuring, kiss on his lips. "Besides, if you do go bald you still look really good in caps."

"So you’re just going to make me go straight to wearing caps? Not even gonna let me try on a few wigs? I think I can pull off the longhair type.” He says while flipping the nonexistent hair back with his hand dramatically.

This time Taehyun does laugh and buries his face against the pillow he’s resting on as Minho proceeds to act out how he would be.

Minho watches the way Taehyun looks as he laughs and before he can stop himself he cups the other’s face and kisses him, soft and slow and absolutely perfect… Taehyun instinctively falls into step and the kisses started to slow down until they were just holding each other.

When Minho almost falls asleep, they decide it’s time for bed and quickly clean themselves up before settling comfortingly into bed. The snow falling from behind Taehyun’s window serving as their only background as they drift off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up combining two bonus chapters into this one and was considering adding another but it felt kind of draggy so the next chapter will be the epilogue and the ending to this story~ thanks for reading!


	13. (Epilogue) I'm Yours Tonight

As the first rays of sunshine stream in through the semi open curtain, warming what exposed skin peeks out from the covers, Minho shifts to the side of his bed and pats around for the other occupant only to be met with the coolness of the sheets. Lifting his head, he squints as his eyes adjust to the morning light and looks around the room. Slowly registering his surroundings he’s grown accustomed to for the last several weeks as the cloud of sleep wears off on him.

He turns to lay on his back and stares up at the ceiling. Since the success of his first collection, Minho had made quite an impression with the uniqueness in his choice of style with his designs. Earning him recognition and praises from major fashion moguls and companies the like. It never really mattered to him whether he was successful or not, but it did humble him to see that his hard work was being received highly.

Lately though, Minho’s presence in the fashion industry has been in high demand and required him to travel more in order to attend shows and give his opinion on certain collections or collaborate for a project. He didn't mind the workload that came with traveling; albeit he did find himself rather lonely without his usual team by his side, and although being away from Taehyun wasn’t something he liked, it was a small fee to pay because the reunions were always pleasurable to say the least. 

Currently he’s been in London preparing for and attending fashion week, and while the chaos finally has dwindled down, he’s remained a bit longer for another reason. Reaching for his phone on the bedside table, Minho smiles as he rereads the last message he received.

________

 _Today is going to be a good day_ , Minho thinks. He arrived at the airport with confirmation appearing on his phone that Taehyun’s flight had come in on time. Parking the car, he walks to the waiting area for arrivals and watches closely the stream of passengers coming out.

When he was video chatting Taehyun a couple of nights ago, Taehyun had jokingly mentioned how he finally had some vacation time and suggested he should join Minho in London. Minho took his offer seriously, telling Taehyun he wouldn’t mind spending a couple of more days in the city if he was with him. He knew it was a good idea when he saw the excitement on Taehyun’s face and the rest of the week had been spent preparing for Taehyun’s arrival.

His train of thought soon leaves him when he spots the familiar burgundy colored hair and face partially covered with a black mask. Minho waves both his arms high in the air to gain Taehyun’s attention, watching Taehyun’s eyes crinkle in recognition and is sure he’s smiling underneath the mask. He quickly meets the other halfway and Taehyun barely has time to let go of his suitcase before he’s being lifted while Minho hugs him.

“Minho—!” Taehyun lets out a small startled laugh as Minho twirls them around happily. He grips the other’s shoulders tightly to not tip over and pats his boyfriend’s back. “Put me down! People are staring.”

Minho gives their surrounding a quick scan and indeed his little stunt had gathered a small amused crowd, but it was the least of his concern right now. “Don’t care,” Minho says but complies when Taehyun’s eyes narrow slightly and lowers him back to the ground. He then pulls Taehyun’s mask down and pecks him several times on his lips, hearing Taehyun let out a sigh at the increase of public display but not really minding if the smile Minho could feel against his lips meant anything by it.

Taehyun grabs Minho’s face in his hands as he kisses him back properly, fingers touching the earrings dangling on each side of his ears, feeling the familiarity and pleased the other is wearing the one's he gifted him with for his birthday. Minho’s arms go to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer and holding him tighter as their lips meld together in a sweet kiss.

“Missed you, diva.” Minho smiles warmly and presses one, two, three more devastatingly soft kisses to Taehyun’s lips. He ruffles Taehyun’s hair once their lips part, smile widening when Taehyun goes to adjust it right after, looking every bit like a disgruntled cat.

Taehyun rolls his eyes at the nickname but he can't wipe the smile that's on his lips away while he reaches for his fallen suitcase. “I’m sure you did, otherwise I’d be disappointed. I don't do these kind of things for just anyone."

Minho just shakes his head with a low chuckle and takes Taehyun’s other hand in his as they make their way back to the car he’s rented, feeling more complete than he has in the last couple of weeks now that Taehyun is with him.

Once they’re in, Minho presents Taehyun with a thermos. “It’s green tea,” he states. “Figured you’d want something to warm you up that isn’t black coffee.”

Taehyun looks at the thermos for a moment then takes it in one hand while the other goes to cup Minho’s cheek and press a small kiss on his nose. “Thank you,” he says with a soft smile.

Minho grins satisfactorily to himself and starts the engine. They drive for a while in silence, just allowing their presence to be the only comfort they need till he sees Taehyun shifting every now and then from the corner of his eye. He can guess what the other is doing.

“It’s great here, don’t you think?” Minho commented, glancing at Taehyun briefly. The weather was much better than it had been the past few days, which in a city as unpredictable as London, was definitely a good sign in Minho’s case. The sky was tinted in a beautiful shade of blue and the trees they drove by were vibrant in green and yellow. “Out of all the times I’ve been here I’ve never been able to enjoy myself since it’s mostly been for work.”

Taehyun agrees as he looks out the window, eyes watching as they pass several different buildings. “I’ve only been here once or twice. Didn’t really get to see much since I was only passing through.” The set up was entirely different from where they lived and Taehyun was intrigued to experience everything fully this time.

“Don’t worry about that, we’ll get to once you’ve rested. I’m sure you’re tired.” It was still very early in the morning and Taehyun had taken a sixteen-hour flight, and while he sounded fine, Minho could see the fatigue kicking in.

“Yeah,” Taehyun replies with a yawn, as if suddenly remembering how tired he is. “I can never really sleep on a plane and it was a long trip.” He settles more into his seat but remains looking out the window and taking in all the details, already feeling himself falling in love with the place.

Once they make it back to Minho’s suite Taehyun heads directly to the bed and lies face down, sighing comfortably and making it seem like he’s the one who’s been staying here the past weeks. He feels Minho tap in between his legs and lifts his hips as his boyfriend takes his jeans and socks off, burying his smile into the bedsheets when he feels Minho kiss his lower back in gratitude.

Minho chucks off his own jeans and sweater till he’s only in his black boxer briefs and presses down against Taehyun under the bedsheets. Taehyun sighs once again, happy to have the familiar body he’s missed back and slowly feels himself doze off as the warmness of Minho’s body seeps through to him.

________

After a much-needed nap and a shower that may have taken longer than intended, the two were now dressed and ready to explore the city. Minho decided to keep the light grey turtleneck and black jeans he wore earlier but threw on a soft rose-colored suit jacket and a creamed colored cap to keep warm. Taehyun had stuck to an almost all-black outfit that consisted of a black long sleeve and an oversize wool-knitted cardigan with blue jeans and a brown bag slung around his shoulder.

It was mid-afternoon when they stepped out and though the weather gets chillier in the night, right now it’s fresh with a slight breeze and the sun beaming down below them as they walk down the streets of London, opting to leave the car behind on Taehyun’s request.

“So what’s the plan?” Taehyun huddles a little closer to Minho as a group of young students pass and bump into him. Seeing this, Minho switches sides with Taehyun to avoid any other confrontations, missing the sweet smile Taehyun gives him appreciatively.

“We don’t have to try and do everything in one day. So a little bit of what you like, little bit what I like.” Minho answers with a shrug, “Y’know, bring balance to the force.”

Taehyun snorts in amusement. “Suddenly we’re in Star Wars, Han Minho?”

“Yes, princess Taehyun.” He laughs but it’s cut short when Taehyun elbows him in the stomach, a smile lingering on his lips as Taehyun flips some of his hair back, his boyfriend's way of showing when he's ticked off.

“Seriously? Leia?” Taehyun huffs out, starting to work himself up much to Minho's delight. “If anything, I should be Han. I’m a lot braver and manlier than you, you marshmallow.” To make a point he pokes at Minho’s stomach, and feels the softness hidden beneath his sweater.

“First off, are you calling me fat?” Minho arches his brow as he bats Taehyun’s hand away from his stomach. Although he had no defined abs, Minho was still fit and didn’t see anything wrong about not having any.

“Of course not,” Taehyun reassures, knowing Minho can get sensitive about his weight at times. “I was just saying you’re a softy. _Physically_ and emotionally, but that's what I love about you.”

Minho looks a little more thoughtful after hearing that. “Well it’s not about whether someone is brave or manly, but how relatable they are to the character. Which for you is Leia, you two have some similar qualities and no, before you say it, it’s not because I’m envisioning you in a gold bikini.”

An elderly couple walking by overhears that last bit and looks at the two of them questioningly. While Minho doesn’t seem all that fazed and smiles innocently at them, Taehyun feels his face heat up in embarrassment and shoves Minho with his shoulder as he passes him. “Idiot,” he mutters under his breath and hopes his face isn’t that red.

“Who do you think from our friends would be Luke?” Minho asks as he comes up beside him, slipping his fingers into Taehyun’s and swinging them as they walk.

“Definitely not Seungyoon, he’s C-3PO because he nags so much.”

“Then would that mean Jinwoo is R2? Because I can’t see him as Chewbacca even if he has those deer-shaped eyes.”

Taehyun cracks up at the image and they begin to have a discussion over which of their friends would be who as they make their way to their first destination.

Minho thought it be best to first try and visit as many sightseeing spots as possible so that later in the week they can just do their own little excursions in and outside of London. They first started with going up the Tower Bridge, then visiting the London Eye and Big Ben; even taking one of the famous red double-decker buses to drive around the city for Taehyun’s amusement.

After visiting Buckingham Palace, they made their way over to a beautiful public garden right next to a lake. The sound of a musician playing nearby drawing their attention and reminding Taehyun that he also wanted to check out the music scene here as well. They strolled along while eating fish and chips for some time until they entered an area filled with street art and stopped to admire the work and snap a couple of pictures with the camera Minho had slung around his neck.

Somewhere in between walking around, Taehyun finally notices Minho was no longer taking pictures of their surroundings but of him. Raising his hand up he tries to cover the lens without touching it. “Stop,” he says, a little laugh escaping his lips as Minho ducks and starts circling him while snapping more pictures.

“Hold still, Taehyun, the lighting is perfect where you're standing.”

Taehyun can only sigh and let his boyfriend get his fill, besides he quite liked the attention Minho constantly showered him with and it’s been some time since they’ve seen each other, might as well indulge himself too.

When Minho was satisfied and lowered his camera, he stepped beside Taehyun so they both could look at the shots he got. “Maybe I should open up a fan page dedicated to you?” Minho suggested, liking the angles and questioning why Taehyun never considered modeling. He could even model for Minho’s next clothing line if he managed to convince the other, he knows a few methods that can work.

“Is that so, masternim?” Taehyun smiles teasingly. “Wouldn’t you get jealous by all the attention I’d receive?”

“Your beauty should be shared with others,” Minho countered. “Besides, I can keep my personal favorites for just the two of us.” He says with a playful glint in his eyes.

“Hmm,” Taehyun regards him before grabbing the camera and turning it around to face them. Minho understands and wraps an arm around Taehyun’s waist, resting his head on his shoulder and smiling for the camera while Taehyun puckers his lips in one of his signature poses. After he checks the photo and smiles appreciatively, “This is definitely one for our eyes only.”

________

The sky had darkened considerably since they ventured out earlier and with it comes the sounds of their stomachs growling. Reminding both that aside from their earlier snack they hadn’t properly eaten all day and quickly head off to a pub Minho has frequented, with Taehyun growing excited at the thought of getting to experience the English pub culture.

It wasn’t as packed as Taehyun expected and he was thankful for that as Minho directed him to an empty booth. “I’ll go get us some food and drinks, be right back.” Minho says and heads over to the counter.

While Minho busies himself with their order, Taehyun takes a chance to look around the pub. A group of college students sat nearby, laughingly drinking their beers while a bunch of older men sat at the counter and drank their beer in silence, some of them playing cards and others smoking. Music played throughout, ranging from folk-sounding tunes to jazzed blues and so on, and made Taehyun like the set up a whole lot more.

Minho returns shortly after with two pints of amber ale and sets them down onto the table. “I think you’ll like this,” he tells Taehyun as slides the drink over to him.

Taehyun raises the glass to his lips and takes a couple of sips. The ale tasted hoppy and malty with some caramel hints and a sweet bitterness at the end. He had never drunk anything similar and enjoyed this new flavor happily.

“So?” Minho inquires, licking some of the fizz from his own lips.

“It’s really good!” Taehyun exclaims and proceeds to gulp down the rest in one go, surprising Minho momentarily.

“Might want to slow down, don’t want to let the night end so soon.” Taehyun just laughs and swipes Minho’s own glass, eyes challenging the other.

Soon they’re eating and letting out satisfied sighs as they dig into their meals, Taehyun happy with Minho's decision on picking what to eat for them. Spending most of their day outside and walking was tiring despite how much they enjoyed themselves, so it was good to finally relax and eat.

The spend some time going over what places to visit next, avoiding any mentions of work since they are on vacation. Instead talks of galleries and museums, including the shopping district and night clubs are heard as they go through Minho’s camera again, laughing at some of the absurdness and feeling the buzz from the beers they ordered slowly work its way into their system.

As they prepare to leave later into the night, Taehyun heads to the bathroom really quick. Minho waits nearby the bar and finds himself bopping his head along to the current song playing. As he listens to the lyrics an idea pops into his head and he approaches the counter before the song ends. “Would you mind telling me what is the name of the song playing right now?”

“ _Waltz Me To the Wedding_ by Lena Anderssen,” the bartender supplies.

Minho thanks him, making a note to remember the song and turns back around only to see Taehyun is already making his way over. “Ready to go?” He asks the other, eyes examining the other and making sure Taehyun isn't too drunk to not walk.

Taehyun nods and lets Minho drag him out, unable to suppress a light chuckle as they find themselves back on the streets of London. The outside air felt refreshing after being in the warm pub for a long time. A few people stood outside smoking or passing by to head to their own destination like themselves. Taehyun smiles as he looks up to see the night sky present itself with twinkling stars scattered throughout and he leans into Minho more, the effects of the beer settling in and making him pliant.

They walk hand in hand over the fallen leaves, breathing in the night air. Minho tells Taehyun how the London streets were quieter in the night compared to the day. Not many people wandered around as much and gave the capital an almost rural appearance which he quite liked.

“Hey, hold on.” Minho says after a while, stopping them as they stand in front of a little market. “I’m craving something sweet.” Taehyun obliges and they end up buying more items than intended before leaving and eat them along their way as they return to Minho’s suite, drunkingly giggling the entire time with the moon and stars being their only witnesses.

________

By the time they’re back in their room they are exhausted and after a quick shower settle into bed naked, too tired to put clothes on. However, sleep doesn’t come as quickly due to the sugar they consumed and instead the couple cuddle close together, hands roaming and caressing each other.

The scent of peaches bringing a happy exhale from Minho’s lips as he presses soft kisses along Taehyun’s neck, ear, and cheek. Taehyun just closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation he missed and fingers gliding through Minho’s hair appreciatively. Both touching and kissing each other lazily. Even if pleasure stirred within both it was almost lethargic like their actions.

When Minho’s hand reaches behind Taehyun to cup his left ass cheek, he tilts a little forward as Minho gives the tender flesh a light squeeze. Their kisses start to become more heated and Taehyun climbs onto Minho’s lap as the other sits up properly. He holds Minho’s face in both his hands as he presses their crotches together, their moans being shared in the small space between them.

Minho’s hand was still squeezing Taehyun’s ass, but his fingers slipped up and down the cleft of his ass and caused Taehyun to shiver in anticipation as he continued to rock their hips together. Taehyun’s thumb brushes over Minho’s plump bottom lip, eyes watching the soft pink skin move beneath his finger.

Their lips soon meet again in a languid lip lock, slow and sedated. Taehyun firmly seated in Minho’s lap, their movements slow at first, as Taehyun’s body adapts to the fullness inside of him. Hands placed on Minho’s shoulders and forehead leaning against the other’s, their hips rocking slowly up and down, hands holding onto heated skin and noses brushing against each other as they lose themselves in pleasure.

A sweet numbness settles into Taehyun after he comes, enjoying the bliss of fatigue creeping into every corner of his body. He hardly reacts when he feels what must be a damp cloth on his skin as Minho cleans him up and just closes his eyes. “Thank you,” he breathes out when Minho slips back under the sheets with him. 

Minho just grins in return, lying on his right side with his head resting on Taehyun’s shoulder. A lazy smile appears on Taehyun’s lips when Minho’s nose brushes along his neck, a set of brief kisses finding their way onto his skin. He let his fingers run over the other’s disheveled hair and nape, feeling the heat radiating from Minho’s body beneath his fingertips.

Taehyun starts to hum a song of his to help lure them to sleep but Minho suddenly remembers something and sits up again. “Hey, can you pass me my phone?”

“What’s up?” He asks as he leans over to where Minho’s phone is on the bedside table.

Minho doesn’t respond as he searches up the name of the song, it takes about two minutes before it starts to play. “What do you think of this song?”

Taehyun is a little confused by the sudden question but listens for a bit, tapping his hand along to the melody and liking the arrangment. “It’s nice,” he says after a while. “But the lyrics...seem more fitting to hear for a wedding, wouldn’t you—"

“Taehyun,” Minho interrupts the other, looking at him seriously.

“Y-Yes?”

“There is something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Minho starts, Taehyun doesn’t know why but he brings his hand up to cover his mouth. Is he...was Minho going to ask him to... “You love me, right?”

“Yes, of course.” He answers without any hesitance.

They look at each other for a moment before Minho’s hand reaches out for Taehyun and pulls him closer, thumb stroking the mole below his eye he loves so much. “Then would you...”

………….

The wedding is beautiful, is the first thought to enter Taehyun’s mind as his gaze sweeps appreciatively across the venue. The whole place is an almost immaculate white as rows of chairs lay under a giant white tent with white petals scattered on the floor and lights hanging all around. The altar was also a sight to see with the way the plants and flowers arched over decoratively. Needless to say it was everything Taehyun imagined it would be and more. Spring had been a good decision to have the wedding.

Looking over to where the man he loves is standing, Taehyun almost bursts out laughing when he sees how much Minho is tearing up. It’s been about 5 years since they’ve been together and yet everyday he finds a way to fall a little more in love with the soft-hearted dork.

“I should be the one crying,” Taehyun whispers beside him, handing Minho a couple of tissues (see he was prepared!) from the pocket of his slacks, “They are _my_ best friends.”

Minho takes the offered tissue and dabs at his nose. “But it’s just so sweet when you realize how long they’ve been together and look how happy they are!” He gestures to the couple who have finished reciting their vows and share their first kiss as a married couple.

They hear some people shush them from behind and Minho turns around to apologize while Taehyun just looks forward with a smile. Minho isn’t wrong, earlier while Taehyun was helping both his friends get ready he did shed a few tears as he realized they were actually getting married today and had never been more happier for the both of them.

Both had asked him to be their best man but since they are his best friends Taehyun didn’t know if picking one over the other would be the best idea (if you had to ask, he’d chose Jinwoo). Instead he offered to sing at their wedding and while the past few months have been...quite entertaining he’s happy there are here today and claps along with the rest of the guests.

________

**[6 months earlier]**

 

Taehyun and Minho have a free weekend to themselves and have just been lounging around in the living room watching movies and eating all kinds of junk food. Somewhere in between finishing the last movie and starting another one, Taehyun settles himself on Minho’s lap and buries his face in his neck, trying to get as much heat from the other’s body as possible.

Minho chuckles at how affectionate Taehyun is being and tilts his chin up to drag him into a slow, lazy kiss. Taehyun immediately gets into it and kisses back, fingers pressing into the strong jaw structure and then caressing down to his cheeks. They settle like that for a while until Taehyun’s phone rings. He lets out a small groan as he pulls away, not wanting to separate from the warmness that is Minho but Minho nudges him to pick it up.

“It could be important,” Minho chides him but Taehyun said he told the studio he was going to be unavailable all weekend.

Just as he’s about to let it ring, Taehyun sees its Jinwoo calling and he quickly answers it. "Hello? Jinwoo...yeah sorry I had it on silent." He lies and sees Minho shoot him a teasing smile as his hand wanders to the inside of his thigh. He's clad in a pair of pale blue shorts that display his thighs rather nicely and an oversize gray sweater. Taehyun pauses in his speech when he feels Minho’s fingers stroking his thigh intimately. "Stop,” he mouths and then apologizes again as he continues talking to Jinwoo.

Deciding that he wants to see how good Taehyun is at being able to compose himself, Minho lets his hand travel to Taehyun’s backside and squeezes his ass. Taehyun practically shivers and lets his one free hand that isn't holding his phone grip Minho’s shirt in a threatening manner. Loving his reaction, Minho can see the challenge in Taehyun’s eyes, as if he's daring Minho to try and get a bigger reaction. And Minho knows the best way.

Taehyun has always had sensitive skin so while one hand squeezes his ass once more, the other hand teasingly slips inside to rub at his hole. His boyfriend’s reaction is immediate and his body curves into his like a cat stretching as Minho presses his lips to Taehyun’s jaw. Taehyun bites his lip so hard and tilts over Minho, his face becoming more and more aroused and Minho thinks he's got this in the bag.

Until Taehyun surprises him by standing up to take off his shorts and boxers before returning to Minho’s lap. He raises his hips a little before slamming back down on his lap and then rotating his ass under Minho’s dick. With just a _thin_ pair of cotton sweatpants being the barrier between them. It feels amazing and Minho can feel the heat from between Taehyun’s legs, making his dick harden even more.

Minho lets out a grunt when Taehyun rubs a little more aggressively and sees him smiling innocently as he replies to something Jinwoo asked. Not wanting to be outdone, Minho presses his fingers back into his hole and lets his other hand hold Taehyun’s hip more steadily as Taehyun continues to grind against him. He wants nothing more than to kiss the other so bad but opts to just press sloppy kisses along his neck and chin, sucking and biting for good measure. Taehyun throws his head back in pleasure when Minho forgoes holding his hip in favor of slipping inside his sweater to twist and rub his nipples teasingly.

He tries to focus on what Jinwoo is talking about, but Minho then lifts his sweater up and ducks his head inside as he starts sucking on them while two of his fingers, now slicked with saliva, enter him. He knows he can't let Minho get the upper hand again, so he reaches down and pulls Minho’s dick out as he lets his ass rub against it. Unzipping the white jacket Minho has on, Taehyun scratches lightly over his naked chest and smiles when Minho muffles his groan at the sensation but it's quickly wiped away as the vibrations go straight to his own dick. Never would Taehyun imagine doing something so perverse when he's literally on the phone with someone else but the way Minho’s eyes are clouded with pleasure when he picks his head back up while he humps him is turning Taehyun on so much he wishes Jinwoo would finish talking so that they could really fuck. He can barely withstand Minho’s fingers teasing him and wants so bad to be fucked by either his fingers or dick with more focus.

Minho pulls Taehyun closer to him as they both are nearing their end, hips bucking up as they catch the last bits of pleasure. "So anyways, the main reason I'm calling is because Yoon and I have decided to get married!" Jinwoo gushes and Taehyun stops moving all together and almost falls backwards but Minho steadies him.

"Wait...getting married?" Taehyun repeats, making sure he didn't mishear just now. Minho, who stopped the second Taehyun did, raises a confused brow. Taehyun ignores him, getting off his lap and walking towards the kitchen table, as he listens to Jinwoo elaborate.

"Yeah, I know it's a bit random and rushed but we've been together for, god knows how long, and with y’know, my dad’s health declining, Seungyoon thinks we should get married before it gets worse." Taehyun nods in understanding despite Jinwoo being unable to see and before he can say anything, Seungyoon’s voice takes over the call.

“Taehyun, I did it!” Seungyoon yells as if he just won the lottery or something. “We’re getting married, oh my god!” Taehyun laughs into the phone and feels his eyes welling up with tears unexpectedly, well then again they _are_ his best friends and this is a big moment for them.

"Tell Jinwoo that I'm happy for you guys and that I'll come over later to get a look at that ring, I'm assuming you were the one who proposed?"

He hears Seungyoon whisper something before answering, "Well we decided together but yeah I've had a ring for a while now. Just was looking for the perfect time to ask."

He can almost see the little smile on Seungyoon’s face when he is shy about something and shakes his head with his own smile. “Good, I’m sure Jinwoo has been waiting for this for quite a long time. You got yourself one lucky guy. Text me later to let me know what time I should come over." Taehyun says and Seungyoon agrees happily before hanging up.

“What was all that about? I heard the words married, ring, and proposed.” Minho says as he comes up behind Taehyun, zipping up his jacket and handing over Taehyun’s shorts to him.

Taehyun puts them back on as he talks. “Seungyoon and Jinwoo are getting married, that’s what the call was about.”

Minho’s eyes widen and then he raises his arms up in the air. “Really? Oh my god finally!” He wraps his arms around Taehyun and lifts him up, twirling them in their living room.

“Why are you acting as if we’re the ones?” Taehyun laughs and circles his arms over Minho’s neck and plays with the ends of his hair.

“Because I’m happy for them, and I know you are too!” Minho gushes and carries Taehyun to their bedroom. “I’m so happy that I need to show you how much.”

Taehyun furrowed his brow, ready to ask Minho how he planned to when the other dumped him onto the bed, quickly stripping them of their clothes and resuming what they had started on the couch.

Later when they go visit the newly engaged couple, Taehyun pulls them into a congratulatory hug even before they fully step into their place and then asks them how it all went down. Afterwards they discuss some of the things the couple are planning for, which includes if they should hire a wedding singer or just have Seungyoon sing.

Minho interjects that Taehyun is more than capable and while Taehyun tries to protest, it’s too late when he sees the spark in Jinwoo’s eye as he agrees.

“It’s the least you can do if you aren’t going to be either of our best mans,” Jinwoo says with a pout, using his best trick as always.

Taehyun can’t really argue with that. “I know you’re more experienced in singing at weddings than I am, but I promise to do justice for you guys,” he tells Seungyoon as Jinwoo cheers from beside him.

“We’re getting married!” Jinwoo repeats again excitedly. “Oh my god this is going to be some event.”

________

“Do you ever think about getting married to Minho?” Jinwoo asks one day while they’re were at the salon. There were still a couple of days left before the big day and Jinwoo had invited him to tag along, despite not being his best man, Jinwoo treated him as such.

“I mean, yeah.” Taehyun says as he pushes his fringe out of his face, “but I don’t know if getting married is something we plan on doing.”

“Please, you and Minho are the most married non-married couple I’ve ever met.” Seunghoon chimes in. “I doubt either one of you hasn’t at least played with the idea.”

Jinwoo nods with a laugh, “That’s true, I really thought they would get married before Seungyoon and I.”

To this day, Taehyun regrets (and owes Minho an apology) letting the two of them meet for they were an even bigger case to handle when it was just the three of them, but then again aside from Seungyoon’s monk-like tolerance, he’s happy to see that Jinwoo found another friend who can match his pace.

“Maybe we’re just waiting for the right time,” Taehyun argues, though he thinks that their trip to London three years ago was as good as any, but Minho had only presented him with a ring pop candy. He didn’t find it all that amusing as Minho and smacked him over the head with a pillow. Jinwoo and Seunghoon had enjoyed themselves more than Taehyun liked when he recounted the story to them later.

Seunghoon scoffs, “What really is a good time for the two of you? Honestly ever since you guys started dating all those years back I could practically hear the bells ringing.”

Taehyun goes to say something to that but feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and takes it out to see a couple of messages from Minho. His boyfriend had decided to go with Seungyoon to check out how the venue the wedding would take place at was doing.

The first message was a picture of Minho pouting with the following message under: **bored TT_TT**

A smile forms on his lips and Taehyun quickly replies.

**T: oh?**

He sees dots appearing then disappearing as Minho probably tries to make up his mind on how to respond.

**M: it’s not as interesting as I thought it would be, the place looks nice but Yoonie ditched me for the wedding coordinator.**

**M: now I’m just walking around...alone.**

**M: Ah...I feel sentimental for some reason ~**

Taehyun shakes his head at his dramatic boyfriend just as another message appears.

**M: how are things at your end? Far better than mine I’m sure.**

Looking back up from his phone, Taehyun tunes in to hear what Jinwoo and Seunghoon are talking about.

“Should I go with a natural look or have my hair dyed?” Jinwoo asks as he flips through a magazine, one that has Seunghoon on the cover dressed in red with his hair white. “I feel like it be kind of dull to just have brown hair and it’s been some time since I last colored it.”

“Well how is Seungyoon going to look?”

“We agreed he’d have his hair black for the wedding even though he’s been wanting to dye it lately.”

Seunghoon hums in thought as he takes a sip of his coffee. “Why don’t you go for a light peach color? I think it would look good paired with your white suit.”

Jinwoo tilts his head to the side as he mulls it over and looks to Taehyun for his opinion. “What do you think?”

“It’s a nice color, and you have the looks to pull it off well.” Taehyun agrees and is happy when Jinwoo smiles thankfully at him and stands up.

“Okay, I’ve decided!” He announces and the hairdresser sighs in relief and directs him to the seat he’s had open for almost an hour.

Taehyun’s phone vibrates again with another picture from Minho. This time he has his eyes looking up as if annoyed with his mouth slightly agape.

**M: are you ignoring me now too?**

**T: sorry!**

**T: Jinwoo finally decided on what he wants ^^ will meet up with you guys soon**

**M: if we ever get married I promise you it won’t be anything like this...so much work!**

Taehyun feels his heart flutter at the possibility and ignores the little comment from Seunghoon as he replies.

**T: I’m keeping you to that, Song Minho**

**M: I promise Nam Taehyun!**

________

**[Present]**

 

The ceremony ended on a beautiful note and now everyone moved to the adjoining ballroom inside where the reception is. Jinwoo and Seungyoon have just finished their first official dance as a wedded couple and are greeting those who came as others dance on the floor.

“We should get married,” Minho murmurs against Taehyun’s ear as they sway side to side to the current song playing, Taehyun resting his head on his shoulder.

Pulling back a little, Taehyun smiles at Minho with _that_ kind of smile. The one that is full and vibrant as he meets Minho’s gaze warmly, feeling his heart swelling. “We probably should, but let’s wait a little while before then. Don’t want to overshadow our friends here on their special day.”

“You’re right, it would be pretty shitty to propose to you at someone else’s wedding.”

“I probably would let Jinwoo and Seungyoon take turns kicking your ass if you did.” Taehyun agrees with a laugh.

“Guess it’s just the mood, y’know? Makes you want to do just about anything for love.” Minho says and twirls Taehyun around.

“You’re such a romantic,” Taehyun replies sardonically.

“Speaking of romantic, there’s something I need to show you.” Minho halts their movements and takes Taehyun’s hand as they make their way outside, passing the tent where a few guests were talking amongst themselves.

“What is it?”

Minho brings a finger to his lips and after following a small step in stone, they come across a field of flowers between them and the lights. Minho bends over, grabbing a handful of flowers he doesn’t know the name of and presents them to Taehyun. “For you,” he says, and punctuates it with a grin, one that he knows Taehyun is familiar with.

“You shouldn’t have,” Taehyun tells him, but he accepts them, stepping up on a little step to walk on top of the wild grass instead of through. Minho follows suit and takes one of the flowers from Taehyun’s hand, placing it between his ear and smiling at the lovely image.

Taehyun’s hands come to frame his face as he strikes a few poses for Minho, causing both to laugh. “The one time I don’t bring my camera,” Minho says wistfully.

“It’s okay, this moment is just for us.” Taehyun says and leans in close. Minho feels himself melting and when Taehyun presses his lips against his forehead, his hands coming around to hug the other. Minho starts to hum a soft melody then, his body swaying slowly with the other in his arms and Taehyun smiles. The warmth enveloped them and held them for a sweet long moment.

“Our wedding would probably be at the beach.” Minho says after some time, his lips murmuring into the side of Taehyun’s temple.

“Of course.” Taehyun couldn’t see any other place besides there, it held a lot of sentimental meaning for the two of them.

“Nothing too big. Just us, our families, close friends and the beach itself.”

“Mm,” Taehyun hums as he starts to picture it. “Sounds perfect.”

Minho goes to respond when their moment is interrupted by approaching footsteps. “Minho? Taehyun? There you guys are, c’mon! Their just about to start the fireworks.” Seunghoon yells from nearby.

“Okay, we’re coming!” Taehyun says but before he can take a step Minho lifts him up in his arms bridal style. “What are you doing?!” Though he shouldn’t be so surprised by the other.

“Practicing!” Minho laughs as he adjusts Taehyun in his hold. “We got plenty of time to perfect it.”

Taehyun cups Minho’s face in his hands, it’s stupid that this is making him smile so bad but maybe it really isn’t. Not when he’s completely in love with the man currently holding him.

As their lips meet the first fireworks begin to pop and startle them. They look at each other, faces so close they’re breathing in the same air, and lean back in as more begin to pop and decorate the sky while painting their faces in different hues. 

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end! I hope this was a good way to end this wonderfully messy story. I honestly didn’t expect myself to write my first multi-chaptered fic so lengthy but it’s been fun! I had this outlined for almost a month and when Taehyun mentioned he was going to London recently I was just like...oh wow, hello what a coincidence! Anyways while also writing this chapter, two AU’s actually came to my mind: a Star Wars AU and a wedding singer AU. Not sure if I will go through with them (though I’m leaning towards a JinYoon wedding singer AU more) but I also just might just to get it out of my system so if any of you are interested let me know if it’s something you’d like to see! Lastly I want to thank everyone again who commented and gave kudos! It really meant a lot to me for my first go at this thank you ♡♡♡

**Author's Note:**

> Dream AU! This is my first work on here but this is something I've been wanting to write and experiment with for some time. Hopefully I can do this AU justice! Expect switching POV.


End file.
